#the whole doping scandal

[uniteds]

stuff that happened in the 2022/2023 football season that should send us into a coma but we’re too desensitized:

1. the whole ass world cup in the middle of the season. what was that

2. manchester united sacking ronaldo and announcing a sale of the club in the middle of the world cup

3. ronaldo getting dropped at the world cup and his replacement scoring a hattrick immediately after

4. keeping up with the belgians (world cup edition)

5. keeping up with the belgians (courtois saying he doesn’t respect kdb after stealing his missus)

6. ronaldo stans beefing with a little moroccan girl

7. the kingdom of saudi arabia buying newcastle united and then telling the premier league that they didn’t and the premier league going “oh okay if you say so”

8. megan thee stallion being romelu lukaku’s date to lautaro martinez’s wedding

9. pique cheating on shakira and then shakira releasing a diss track about it

10. shakira figuring out pique cheated on her because someone ate her strawberry jam and pique doesn’t eat strawberry jam

11. apparently the girl pique cheated on shakira with (clara) cheating on pique with pep

12. wagatha christie libel case

13. real madrid dropping a video accusing barcelona of fascism and the government of cataluyna getting involved

14. the pope coming out as a manchester united fan

15. the one napoli fan that basically made zielinski strip on the pitch

16. mount vesuvius park shutting down because napoli fans wanted to fake an eruption as a celebration

17. frank lampard taking everton into a relegation battle, getting sacked, and then taking chelsea into a relegation battle

18. on that note: chelsea were in a relegation scrap and finished 12th

19. mourinho lost his first ever european final to sevilla europa league black magic

20. whatever the fuck borussia dortmund did on the last day of the bundesliga season

21. anthony martial’s ex wife chasing his first wife down a french motorway with a baby in the passenger seat

22. psg suspending messi because he took an unsanctioned trip to saudi arabia and then unsuspending him two days later because they didn’t want people talking about geopolitics

23. the absolutely bizarre messi apology video released by psg

24. spurs refunding their fans’ tickets after being embarrassing

25. pep’s heartbreak over the fact julia roberts is a manchester united fan

26. chelsea scored one goal in the month of april

27. chelsea and spurs had six managers between them and won one match combined between march and april

28. mourinho fighting anthony taylor after the europa league final

29. milan derby in the ucl for the first time since 2005

30. luis enrique saying he’s cool with the spanish players having sex during the world cup as long as they’re not having orgies

31. luis enrique saying he doesn’t have sex anymore unless his wife wants to

32. man city charged with 115 counts of financial doping and trying to get the barrister in charge disqualified because he’s an arsenal fan

33. mourinho wire-taping himself to catch referees being corrupt

34. ryan reynolds and mac from it’s always sunny in philadelphia buying a football club and that football club getting promoted

35. pele died rip

36. women football awards sponsored by shein and klarna having a category for “male football ally of the year” and it’s just random men that went to one (1) women’s game

37. barcelona negreia case (how do you say calciopoli in catalan?)

38. infantino saying he feels gay, african, like a migrant worker, disabled, arab, and qatari

39. infantino saying he was oppressed as a child because he was ginger and italy is not safe for gingers

40. david alaba’s father in law getting arrested for being one the leaders of a far right group plotting to overthrow the german government

41. richarlison being tumblr’s it girl for a month and then not scoring a goal for the next four

42. juventus being in the middle of another corruption scandal and being docked points because of it

43. two teams getting investigated by the british government for playing football the weekend the queen died

44. gavi getting a yellow card in the first minute of a football match

45. pogba’s brother was arrested by french authorities for being part of a group-organized extortion attempt against pogba

46. richarlison getting a tattoo of neymar’s face and neymar paying him 30k to get it removed

47. iker casillas coming out, puyol implying they had a thing, and both of them retracting it in the most misha collins way possible.

48. sane and mane fight

49. zlatan retired from football

50. barca withholding about 50 million in wages from their players and somehow frenkie still didn’t want to join manchester united

[fifteenloove]

holger practically worships djoko and sort of modeled his on-court behaviour after him and I think in his eyes you have to be a little "scandalous" for him to like/respect you. and before the doping scandal I think he saw jannik as his complete opposite because he was known as the guy that never gets into controversies/never gets angry/never argues with the crowd etc and that kind of pissed him off a little bit. but then the whole doping scandal happened and made him see jannik in a different light with how he handled all the adversity while still managing to play well. winning with the crowd against you is so much more admirable to him I think.

I love the narratives from a rpf pov and I think this is delicious BUT this also makes me laugh because wow. Holger is like my dad who also started to really like Jannik after the clostebol case

[kajthes]

First Sentence Tag Game

Thank you to the lovely @darthdisco and @billy-royalton both of you for tagging me in this writing game ❤️❤️

Rules: Share the first lines of ten of your most recent fics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway.

(My fics are all Lawrusso with Johnny/Daniel)

Five Dollars of Destiny

Johnny Lawrence hated Christmas shopping.

Not the holiday itself—he liked the lights, the smell of pine, the excuse to drink whiskey in the middle of the day. But the shopping, that was a goddamn nightmare. Too many people bustling in his face, not enough parking and the screech of Mariah Carey’s hideous song playing on a loop.

Drunken Spank-Off

“It’s happenin’ LaRusso! Saddle up!”

SMACK!

What the actual fuck?! 

Tell me again how good I am

Johnny never thought he'd get used to this. Training with Daniel and not wanting to punch his smug face in. It should feel wrong, but it didn’t. Somehow, it felt... good. Weird as hell, but good.

Ever since Daniel agreed to be his sensei, training had taken on a whole new meaning. There was a new fragrance around it. It wasn’t just about throwing fists or landing the hardest hits. There was also balance, precision and patience. All things that Johnny had spent most of his life ignoring. Resisting, at the very least… until recently.

The Price of Love

“You’re early this morning, Daniel,” Alice remarked, her voice soft and gentle as a harp’s melody.

Daniel stood at the edge of a stone pathway, dressed in a tailored navy frock coat and cravat. The leather of his polished boots glinted in the sunlight.

Hold on to me

The roar of the crowd feels distant compared to the deafening pounding of Johnny’s heart. His lungs burn. His legs are dead weight. His vision is blurred and his mouth tastes blood. He’s losing. Again.

Sleep with him!

Johnny stepped out of the hotel bathroom. The humid warmth of his shower clung to his skin as he tightened the sash of his bathrobe. His hair was still damp, beads of water clinging to the ends, and he ran a hand through it absentmindedly as he grabbed a towel to dry it.

Daniel was perched on the edge of the sofa with the phone in his hand. His face was illuminated by the screen. His light, soft voice filled the room. It didn’t take long for Johnny to piece together who he was talking to.

The Prince of Beauty

The day Johnny realized he was madly attracted to Daniel, he did something he hadn’t done since his twenties. Something he never thought he’d do ever again.

For God’s sake, he was in his fifties. A grown man with gray creeping into his stubble and aches in places that used to be bulletproof. But there he was in front of the mirror, surrounded by an arsenal of hair and skin products, a pair of scissors, pieces of fabric tossed everywhere and a damn curling iron he didn’t even know he still owned.

The Catalyst They Needed

“I can’t believe this! Because of some dumb doping scandal, Cobra Kai get to come back?!”

Miguel poked at his food with a fork, his appetite lost in the swirling frustration of the news. Across the cafeteria table, Robby leaned back in his chair.

“It’s bad enough that they’re back, but it’s probably worse because our senseis…”

Slick Deals 2

Daniel was in his fifties, but he had never in his life had that much sex in one single night. And who could blame him. The sex was mind blowing. Johnny was impossibly hot—so much it bordered on pain—and Daniel simply couldn’t get enough of him.

Midnight War

“That’s it! I’m gonna kill him!” Johnny hissed, yanking off his headphones and sitting up in his bed. “How does a human make that sound? It’s like his nose is trying to file a noise complaint against his lungs!”

Daniel sat up too, his blindfold perched on his forehead like a misplaced headband. “We’ve tried earplugs, white noise machines, even your playlist! Nothing works!”

“Hey, my playlist is way better than yours, LaRusso. I mean, freaking bougie whale sounds?”

Tagging (no pressure and sorry if double tags) @brimstone-cowboy @secondclassfangirl @wicked-jade @pinkgrapefloyd @blinkasaurus @kbaxxy and anyone else who would like to play this game!

[se-dissimuler]

My personal head cannon for the two is that while nothing happened at Davis cup ‘23, it sets the stage for everything. Picture a tired af Jannik in his hotel room after the celebration just wanting to go to sleep only to get a knock at the door. It’s Matteo, he’s a little more than tipsy and Jannik isn’t sure of it all. He’s so used to Matteo just seeing him as a little kid he’s no sure when it all changed( it was literally that night Matteo realized he could not live without the ginger man) Matteo is like desperate to make this big love declaration but Jannik just pushes it off to him being drunk. Neither of them talk about it the next day, and Jannik thinks that’s the case. They still stay close, and then the doping scandal happens. Jannik can’t say anything but Matteo obviously knows something is up. Their match up at wimby happens and Matteo, fully sober, realizes he can’t hold it in anymore. So round two electric boogaloo of Matteo’s big love declaration happens at wimby. He spills his guts. Tells Jannik he loves him, can’t live without him, and wants to be with him. Thinks he’s the best player in the world, and can win it all. The whole nine yards.

This then proceeds with Jannik bursting into tears. He’s been holding in so much, having to lie to everyone around him, and now Matteo’s here telling him everything he’s wanted to hear, but his life could literally fall apart at any moment. He tells Matteo everything (how could he not) Matteo while shocked, is standing by his man. Tells him that nothing has changed and everything will work out in the end. Anyways that ends with them fucking nasty in that hotel room, and Darren makes a reminder to not get hotel rooms next to each other next time, if Matteo is at the same tournament. Fast forward to Davis cup ‘24, and they’re an established couple, they win it all together, and Jannik is in the early stages of his pregnancy with baby giulietta 🫃. The two were notoriously bad with birth control, absolutely nobody is surprised it happened this early. Though Matteo did promise his mother they would get married before the baby came.

i wish i didn’t care about internet safety because my FACE while reading this. it went 🙂😏😔😭😦😍☺️ THAT MPREG HIT ME LIKE A FREIGHT TRAIN

u really put me in a rollercoaster anon it had everything from angst fluff and male pregnancy thanks for this 🤝🤝🤝🤝

[2129888]

One thing I find super interesting with yasashii watashi is the way that seiru says that everyone at the nationals level was on steroids with tennis and like, baseball is even more infamous for its doping scandals, but nobody ever even mentions it as like “something other teams used to do” in oofuri

omg you really made me think with this... i stood in one spot and zoned out and ran the whole manga thru my head like no wait they never actually mention steroids huh.... you would think maybe shigapo would've given one of his long-winded lectures over it or maybe even momoe's dad would've brought it up considering his experience... but no. huh that really is interesting. i wonder why? there have def been many opportunities. i literally have no answer to this besides wonder sorry

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Wait, what other controversial things happened at these Olympics besides the Drag Queens parody ?

THE CONVICTED P*do in the Netherlands playing volleyball. (Which alone is enough to make me not want to watch.)

Then that whole gender debacle with the boxing event. (This one has more nuance then people care to admit)

typical doping scandals.

The Olympics not accommodating the athletes by making them sleep and eat in below mediocre conditions.

And then there is the whole thing on which countries should or Should not be involved.

And of course, it’s in France.

[mousemannation]

Q for you and also other daniil fans ig:

Would you rather Daniil have Jannik’s year, his success in slams and all that, but you also have to take his doping charges and impending ban?

I thought it’s an interesting question because for Carlos and Novak the answer will obv be no. But as a Daniil fan I thought twice about it ngl. I decided on no btw

ooooooh okay first of all excellent question!!! second of all omg i am also second guessing myself....

I think honestly I would take the success... Like, I won't deny that the scandal has been hard for jannik, and is something that a lot of people are being very rude about; but like... he's also had a lot of good this year? Like the season has been FANTASTIC for him despite the horrors. Two slams, five masters, no.1 + year end. Would he give up his success if it meant no doping scandal?

But all that wouldn't mean anything if not paired with the fact that I think daniil could handle it.

Look, he's no stranger to being the villain- he's been the villian his whole career! I do think daniil and jannik are similar in a lot of ways, and I think the way jannik has managed it is much like how daniil would, and jannik didn't have near the same amount of experience being hated 😭😭

I guess like, I wouldn't wish it on anybody, but if it did happen I just think daniil comes off as self-assured and able to disregard what other people say enough that he'd make it through.

Final note... I know winning isn't everything but in the same vein neither is a doping scandal 🤷 maybe if i felt stronger about doping I'd care more but I so entirely don't sjiwkwkwkw

[mappawhereisyoi]

A Ramble about Ice Adolescence & the Franchise as a Whole

Myself and the team behind #MappaWhereisYOI and its petition do not believe that delays and silence on Ice Adolescence are because of the creators. I personally think it has everything to do with the studio and the distributor. If the creator and director are involved in any way, it’s probably because they refused to compromise their vision at one point or another.

As we all know, the intellectual property is dead. There is no new official art or merchandise has been released in years outside of collaborations with contracts sign forever ago. There are no advertisements for it. The most we get these days are tweets to celebrate character birthdays - likely pre-programmed bots.

Part of me believes that Mappa and Avex have let it fade away on purpose. If no one remembers Yuri!!! on Ice, no one will be knocking on their doors asking where the movie is and why they were unable to complete this project. No one will be doubting their abilities to see started projects through to the end. Did the doping scandal, COVID and war impact the movie? Probably, but the delays started before that.

The other part of me believes that, after everything, they don’t think it would be profitable to put the movie out anymore even if it was ready. It has been six years since it was announced, after all. Admittedly, the fandom is not as concentrated as it once was, but if they dropped the full movie trailer tomorrow it would be different. They’d break the internet. The love for YOI is still there in people’s hearts - I see it on every viral tweet and tiktok.

That second part, that’s what I’m fighting for. It’s what I’m holding onto. If that’s the reason, I want to give Mappa and Avex the message that we all still care. That’s why I’m pushing this petition. It feels like the only thing we can do at this point, but I know, if we get enough buzz going about Yuri!!! on Ice and enough signatures, that we could potentially make a difference and save our beloved show.

If this resonates with you, please consider signing and sharing our petition!

[gratisdiamanten]

hello! in your recent post about Max's accent you mention that you'd like to do an autopsy of Visma-Lease-a-Bike 'once the doping scandal drops'. i'm very intrigued as to what form this 'autopsy' would take, and also about the reasons why you believe that it's inevitable that a doping scandal will emerge.

i agree that there's definitely something happening (whether that's outright use of banned substances at a team-wide level or by individual riders, or so-called 'grey doping' – using PEDs that are not yet illegal) at Visma/in the modern peloton as a whole, and i'd love to hear your thoughts on to what extent this could be happening – and, if you'd like, continue discussions in DMs.

:)

I'd love once things come to light to do a comprehensive look at the development of the team(s) and also how people from the team have talked varyingly about its dynamics over time! I have kind of an academic outlook on sports. On a funnier level I want to know what Primi is going to sound like about it ten years from now if it's out by then, because I know he'll say the most insane cryptic equivocating shit.

I think it's moderately widespread. I think gray doping is team sponsored and straight up law-breaking is mostly individual athletes. For Visma I think it's mostly just. Highly regimented gray doping. I'd venture a guess that the cyclists don't even think hard about it whatsoever, dopers generally don't, and if it's not against the rules then what are they really doing wrong.

I have really bland takes on the reality of it, honestly, but I am more fascinated by narratives of doping and of the attempts to transcend the limits of human physiology:)

[papirouge]

Hey papi, how are you doing? Hope you're having a good weekend 💕

I'm the tranwomen in videogames anon. Thanks for the answer! I really thought about what you siad and it made sense to me. I can see the whole videogame industry filled with more drama and degeneracy due to the types of people it attracts, so I shouldn't mope about there not being enough women. Honestly, sometimes I read stories about women getting messages like "I'll fucking rape you and cut your throat you cunt" when they dont hide their sex... Like who would want to be in such a space? Sometimes I do enjoy watching videos about videogames and there are some pretty dope things and events, so I do get this wanting of there being a place for women in vg without drama or issues. But you're right. I'm glad there are women in other IT departaments successing and being able to even work from home.

Plus there have been sexual scandals in certain scenes, and even the non sexual scandals can be pretty wild. Just last week I was watching this video about this gamer bro who commited suicide and he literally blamed two other gamer bros for "giving him the final push he needed" in his farewell suicide video, all because they called him out for defending his incel white supremacist friend. Like I feel really bad he commited suicide, but it's extremely shitty to partially blame this two dudes because they covered the drama.

But yeah, I guess I can forget sometimes how nasty and rancid the gamer scene can be. I mean, they even get a lot of negative stereotypes associated with them both with normies and between the community itself. The best thing for women would be to not show their faces and try to build a mostly female audience focusing on games popular with girls and women.

And btw, Ive actually stumbled upon some videos that have some transwomen gamers in tournaments and so on and the comments... men can truly be ruthless. I'm honestly not ok with making fun of their appearance or their voices, or how they dress, I think it's low hanging fruit and simply bullying.

Transwomen are men so you better let men deal with their own issues by themselves. There are more to life than gaming breadtube and all their drama. IDK how old you are anon, but I don't know whether all of this will truly matter when you're 30... lol

If you want to chose a career path where you have to publicly expose yourself, might as well chose one you won't age out of in a few years. A a very few are worth it, that's why it's not worth to show your face imo

[themostvindictivemind]

I saw this meme for the hundredth time today and instead of scrolling by like normal I actually thought about it for a second. How high could a human jump if given a suitcase full of cocaine? So I did what any reasonable person would do and I went down a 5 hour research rabbit hole. Here's what I found, minus things that don't really give insight into the effectiveness of drugs.

The first thing I learned was that "doping", as it's called in the business, is nowhere near a new thing. It dates back to the original Olympic Games of ancient Greece. Per Wikipedia, "Athletes were also known to drink "magic" potions and eat exotic meats in the hopes of giving them an athletic edge on their competition." And in the beginning of the modern era, things weren't much more sophisticated. The first documented case of doping in the modern Olympics was the winner of the 1904 Olympic Marathon, Tom Hicks, who was given strychnine and brandy to enhance his performance. And apparently, it worked! Hicks won gold that day, beating the second place runner by SIX (6) WHOLE MINUTES, which doesn't just mean that the first drugs used in the Olympics were rat poison and booze, but also that rat poison and booze actually worked.

Then athletes discovered they could improve their performance further by pumping a lot of testosterone and consuming a lot of amphetamines. Which makes sense; anabolic steroids are just synthetic testosterone and testosterone itself is a steroid so filling your body with even natural T is going to make a lad look roided. I don't think I need to explain how the amphetamines helped.

This led to the only drug-related Olympic death, where Knud Jensen fell off his bicycle and died during the road race at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Initially, it was thought he passed out from the heat. When it was discovered that he was actually on massive amounts of Ronicol (basically meth), a lot of sports organizations banned drugs and the ICO followed not long after, leading to the eventual formation of the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) in 1999. Because of these new bans, we have the very comical first OFFICIAL CASE of doping, where Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall was disqualified for "[having] two beers, to steady his nerves". Alcohol is considered by the ICO and WADA to be doping; I just think it's funny that even though he was technically on performance-enhancing drugs he still only won bronze. So i guess the conclusion there is "booze works, but only strong booze", which all of us already knew.

Now we've made it to what most people likely think of when they think "Olympic doping scandals": The good ol' USSR (plus West Germany)

Both East and West Germany and Russia were notorious for doping their athletes, or at least for being accused of it. There is an 800-page dossier detailing West Germany's use of PED's in sporting events, both in and out of the Olympics. It was most prevalent during Munich 1972 and Montreal 1976, when apparently more than twelve hundred East German athletes were doped. In '72, East Germany scored 66 medals, and in '76 they scored 90, and interestingly enough the US and the Soviet Union were the only countries to score more in total. East Germany also won more Gold than the US in '76. In 1976, the original winner for the 110+ kilo category for weightlifting was Valentin Khristov, about whom I was able to find next to nothing, not evenhow much he lifted. But he was disqulified for testing positive for anabolic steroids, and even on the offifcial Olympics website his score has been replaced with "Disqualified". The medal went to the runner-up, Vasiley Alexseyev, who lifted 260 KILOS (572 POUNDS). Which means that whatever Khristov lifted, it was more. So the steroids definitely played a role there.

In the next summer Olympics in 1980, there were so many doped athletes that an Australian study from 1989 said "There is hardly a medal winner at the Moscow Games, certainly not a gold medal winner, who is not on one sort of drug or another: usually several kinds."

The 1954 and 1966 World Cups also had doped-up German athletes, and any FIFA fan can tell you Germany won in 1954 and would've won in 1966 if not for a Hat-Trick scored by England's Geoff Hurst. However, I feel I should add that the Hungarian team they were playing against in '54 scored more goals than them over the course of the tournament, if that added context matters, which I wouldn't know because the only football I watch is Gaelic Football.

But after all this research i started thinking about other ways performance could be enhanced, namely through cybernetics. Imagine an Olympics where the athletes aren't on drugs, but have cybernetic limbs/possibly even organs that are orders of magnitude more efficient and powerful than an ordinary human's. Eventually, if cybernetic enhancements become an actual thing made by private companies and not the military, one of those corporations is probably going to do something like that. An "Enhanced Olympics", if you will, or at least that's what I'd call it because it sounds badass. Something like the 1892 Chicago World Expo, except with more cyborgs and hopefully less H. H. Holmes. Just to showcase how much better people with their products can perform. Completely normal looking humans with god-like strength, reflexes, and flexibility. Could you imagine?

Right off the bat the athletes are breaking long-standing world records. A US Marine Corps Veteran, who has both of his legs but hasn't walked in years, absolutely shatters the triple jump record, seeming to almost fly through the air. His final distance is over 27 meters ( 88.5 feet).

Now there's no telling what the longest triple jump will be by the time this takes place, if ever. The current world record was set in 1995 and has yet to be broken, but I can guarantee that if a new record is set, and then ten new records thereafter, the new world record won't be 27 meters. In fact, I can guarantee that it won't even be 25, and I can also say with a great degree of certainty that it won't be 20. Because that 1995 record? It's only 18.29 meters. The previous 10 records are all within CENTIMETERS of each other, and the previous HUNDRED RECORDS aren't even shorter by a single meter. As a matter of fact, the world record hasn't even increased by 5 meters from the first ever Olympic triple jump of 13.71 meters (A litle less than 45 feet), which was done at the 1896 Olympics.

So an unenhanced human getting 20 meters in the triple jump is damn near an impossibility, and 25 is entirely out of the question. Sure, maybe if some unassisted athlete trained insanely hard for their entire life, and maybe if that athlete were geeked out of their fucking mind on some probably-fatal cocktail of drugs, it could be theoretically possible for a normal human to do. But 27 meters is insanity to even hope to achieve. Go out and try to jump even 10, and you'll still fall far short. To get to 27 you'd have to be bred to be an Olympic long jumper, and even then you'd still need an unholy metric fuck ton of performance enhancing drugs. And here's this paralytic 50-something, crushing it like it's nothing to him.

And as the other Olympians step forward for their sports, it becomes clear that it was nothing to him.

Because he wasn't even trying. But the next ones don't hold back.

The same kind of thing happens for the other events. One by one these enhanced olympians are annihilating the concept of possibility. Javelin throwers launch javelins out of the stadium; Gymnasts perform mindbending routines not on balance beams but on slackline suspended dozens of meters in the air; wrestlers dislocate and relocate their own bones painlessly to escape impossible choke holds and figure-fours.

Sure, it's a capitist cash grab, and the early testing phases for the technology would no doubt be painful. But somehow I feel like Hephaestus would look at what the sons of men are doing and smile.

[careeradviceandmore]

What Went Down? Inside The Most Controversial Sports Legal Cases 

Sports are more than just thrilling achievements and painful failures; they're also a complex world full of legal battles and controversies that frequently occur off the field. From doping scandals to contract conflicts, legal issues have influenced how we perceive athletes, teams, and even entire sports organizations. This article covers 5 of the most notable legal issues and controversies in sports, giving a perspective on the consequences for the individuals involved and the sports business as a whole.    1. The BALCO Doping Scandal 

The Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) controversy rocked the sports world in the early 2000s when it was revealed that the company was selling illegal performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) to elite athletes such as baseball star Barry Bonds and track and field athlete Marion Jones.  

Legal Controversy:  

Federal Investigation: In 2003, the US government started an investigation, which resulted in the arrest of BALCO founder Victor Conte and numerous others for trafficking illegal narcotics.  

Marion Jones admitted to using steroids and was stripped of her five Olympic medals. Barry Bonds was found guilty of obstructing justice after lying under oath regarding his PED use. 

Illegal Aspects:  

• Distribution of illegal Substances: BALCO provided steroids and other PEDs that were unlawful without a prescription.  

• Lying and obstruction of justice: Athletes lied on oath during investigations. 

- Fraud and Conspiracy: Using a network to cheat anti-doping testing.  

The BALCO controversy resulted in tougher anti-doping legislation, harmed the reputations of famous athletes, and raised concerns about the honesty of professional sports. 

2. IPL Spot-Fixing Scandal (India) 

In 2013, the Indian Premier League (IPL), one of the world's biggest cricket leagues, experienced a spot-fixing scandal. Players from the Rajasthan Royals have been accused of purposefully underperforming in order to receive money from gamblers.  

Legal Controversy: 

Three cricketers, including S. Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan, and Ajit Chandila, have been arrested and banned for spot-fixing. The BCCI banned them for life. However, Sreesanth's ban was eventually removed by the Supreme Court of India.  

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) were suspended for two seasons owing to officials' involvement in unlawful betting.  

Illegal Aspects:  

Spot-fixing: Manipulating individual events inside a game is banned under India's Prevention of Corruption Act.  

Illegal betting and match-fixing violate the Public Gambling Act of 1867 and the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA).  

This controversy called into doubt cricket's ethics, forcing the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the BCCI to adopt tighter anti-corruption measures. It sparked talks in India about legalizing sports betting to tackle criminal operations.  

3. The Lance Armstrong Doping Scandal 

Lance Armstrong was regarded as one of the best cyclists of all time, having won seven straight Tour de France victories from 1999 to 2005. However, his career took a drastic turn when it was discovered that he was part of a sophisticated doping program.  

Legal Controversy:  

The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) judged Armstrong guilty of using banned substances such as EPO, testosterone, and blood transfusions, which resulted in him losing all seven titles and being banned from professional cycling for life.  

Illgal Aspects:  

Armstrong violated anti-doping laws set by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). 

Fraud and False Claims: He faced legal action under the False Claims Act for defrauding his sponsor, the United States Postal Service, by taking performance-enhancing medications.  

In 2018, Armstrong agreed for $5 million to avoid a $100 million lawsuit.  

The incident exposed the widespread problem of doping in sports, leading to stronger anti-doping laws around the world. It also harmed Armstrong's reputation by highlighting the penalties of dishonesty and fraud.  

4. FIFA Corruption Scandal 

In 2015, the world of football was rocked by an enormous corruption scandal involving FIFA, the sport's worldwide governing organization. Top officials have been accused of accepting bribes in exchange for World Cup hosting rights, huge marketing contracts, and media plans.  

Legal Controversy:  

FBI Investigation: The FBI and the US Department of Justice discovered a corruption network involving over $150 million in bribes and payments. 

Several high-ranking FIFA officials have been arrested and face allegations of corruption, wire fraud, and money laundering.  

Leadership Changes: Sepp Blatter, then FIFA President, was banned from football for six years due to unethical practices.  

Illegal Aspects:  

Bribery and corruption are violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).  

Money Laundering: Using US banks to launder illegal money, which can result in criminal prosecution under the US RICO Act.  

The incident exposed deep-rooted corruption within FIFA, forcing leadership changes and improvements to its bidding processes. It also highlighted the need for increased transparency and responsibility in international sports organizations.  

5. Hansie Cronje and the Match-Fixing Mafia (India & South Africa) 

In 2000, South Africa's cricket captain, Hansie Cronje, was exposed for his involvement in a big match-fixing scandal rocking the cricket world. Cronje took money from Indian bookmakers to toss matches and alter score. 

The Delhi Police taped a phone conversation that revealed Cronje's involvement. It disclosed his interactions with Sanjay Chawla, a representative of an Indian betting syndicate.  

The fallout: Cronje admitted to taking $100,000 in bribery. He received a lifetime ban from cricket. Tragically, he passed away in a plane crash in 2002, sparking conspiracy claims of foul play.  

Illegal Aspects:  

Match-fixing and bribery are violations of India's Prevention of Corruption Act and South Africa's anti-corruption statutes.  

Illegal betting involves multinational betting syndicates.  

This controversy exposed the dark side of illegal betting, as well as the Indian mafia's influence in international cricket. It additionally showed how easily top players can be convinced by money, ruining fans' faith in the sport's ethics.  

Conclusion  

Doping scandals, murder prosecutions, match-fixing, and corruption have changed the sports industry, affecting athletes' careers, organizational leadership, and public trust. Legal controversies continue to shape changes in regulations and ethical standards in sports, stressing the importance of integrity, openness, and fair play. These high-profile instances serve as a reminder that sports are not immune to legal and ethical difficulties, emphasizing the necessity of preserving the competitive spirit both on and off the field.  

HSWF is committed to educating young athletes while creating an inclusive sports community. Join us in transforming Indian sport. Stay tuned and Follow HSWF on Instagram and Facebook for additional information on the nexus of law and sports!  

[angelo-the-whistleblower]

(First Draft Version) ---- Ridley Scott: "Where’s the money? Give it to me, or I’ll make you regret it." Angelo (POW): "What the hell are you talking about? What money? Where the hell do you even know me from? And why are you asking for money that’s not yours? Who do you think you are?" Ridley Scott: "So you noticed my threats? It wasn’t exactly subtle. I need that money, man! Give it to me." Angelo (POW): "You better get yourself a good lawyer, because I’m this close to sending you to jail for what you did to me. I’m not kidding. Your TV show Dope Thief is going to be used as evidence in court. You threatened a prisoner of war for money that’s not yours. That’s a felony. You thought no one would notice? We all saw what you did. I’ve got so many witnesses ready to testify and expose you for the corrupt piece of shit you are. And don’t think just because you’ve made a bunch of movies and have friends in Hollywood, that’s gonna save you from this. You’re going down with the rest of them. Don’t ever think I’m scared of you. I’ve got a much stronger army behind me than you could ever dream of. Let that sink in, old man. You want my respect, but you act like a criminal who robs banks. That’s what you did. You tried to intimidate me, thinking I’d give you my money. How pathetic. You’re a bank robber now. Europol and the FBI have seen your threats. You can’t take that back. The only chance you’ve got is if Russell Crowe steps in and asks me to forgive you. If he does, I might consider it, but if he doesn’t, you’re screwed. Russell Crowe is your last shot at freedom. Goodbye, Ridley." (Second Draft Version) --- Ridley Scott: "Where is the money? Hand it over, or I'll make you regret this." Angelo (POW): "What are you talking about? Money? Who the hell do you think you are? You don’t know me, and I certainly don’t owe you anything. What gives you the right to demand money that’s not yours?" Ridley Scott: "So you’re aware of the threats? I wasn’t trying to be subtle. I need that money, now. Give it to me." Angelo (POW): "You’re making a grave mistake, Ridley. You should be hiring a lawyer right now, because I’m on the verge of seeing you behind bars for what you’ve done. This isn’t a joke. Your show, Dope Thief—it’ll be exhibit A in the courtroom. You’ve threatened a prisoner of war for money that isn’t yours. That’s not just criminal, it’s a felony. And you thought no one would notice? Everyone saw it. I’ve got a whole team of witnesses ready to testify. You, Ridley, are corrupt, and no amount of Hollywood fame or the films you’ve made will shield you from the fallout. You’ll be remembered for this scandal, and trust me, it’s coming for you. Don't think for a second that I’m afraid of you. I have a much stronger force behind me than you ever will. Let that settle in. You’re just an old fool now. You want my respect? You act like a criminal—like someone who robs banks. That’s what you are now: a bank robber. You tried to intimidate me into giving you money, but all you did was expose your own pathetic nature. Europol and the FBI have already seen the threats you’ve made. You can’t take that back, Ridley. Your only hope now lies with Russell Crowe. If he comes to me and asks for your forgiveness, I’ll consider it. But if he doesn’t, you’ll face the consequences of your actions. I won’t forgive you. Russell Crowe is your last shot at any form of redemption. Goodbye, Ridley."

[folkfleur]

some scattered, mixed headcanons for mila ♡

- figure skating was important to mila growing up, and she loved that it was a sport she could do by herself. mila is more of a loner, and dislikes being around other people. but skating brought her an adrenaline rush, she felt like she was flying on the ice. the competition wins and the news headlines made her feel beautiful, talented, incredible. then the competition became her world.

- it's important to know that while yes, mila was disqualified over a doping scandal, she never purposefully took performance enhancing drugs. mila took whatever her coach gave her, and did what she told her to do.

- she's not very emotionally expressive, and her accent is still thick, and mila struggles with speaking english, so she can be difficult to understand sometimes. it frustrates her a lot.

- mila felt trapped in russia after her scandal and hospitalization. she hurt herself too badly to ever skate again, and the whole world had seen the worst moments of her life. she was too embarrassed to stay, and so she moved to canada (this is flexible, she can move wherever is necessary for the rp!) where she had hoped to revisit her skating career. mila misses her family pretty often.

- her clothing style is mostly sweaters, jeans, and athleisure joggers. mila doesn't care much for fashion or makeup, and so she stays comfortable and natural. she doesn't hate 'girly' things or anything like that, but she doesn't see the point in it unless it was for competitions.

[despazito]

Channel 5 really prides itself on trying to be as non-biased as possible which oftentimes results in a bizarre enlightened centrist position, in this case Andrew starts arguing that both the racing industry and the Grey2k anti-racing organization equally only care about making a profit and nothing else.

He makes the case that greyhound racing is good for the local economy even though attendance for this sport has gotten low and said economy is just online gambling with extra steps, as if that same property cannot be transformed into a different venue that could also create jobs.

Andrew has put out an addendum video basically admitting he may have been more biased towards the kennel owner because he tends to side more with whichever party he spent more time interviewing, in this case he spent and entire day with Steve Sarras and only an hour sit down meeting with Grey2k. I think Andrew also likes to align himself with the perceived underdogs of his stories, which here is painted as Steve the down-to-earth blue collar guy in a tshirt talking about how he just wants to make a living but is being battered by these insatiable "animal rights activists", juxtaposed by the villainous Grey2k founders in their stuffy suits and ties and lawyers. It's only in the addendum video that Channel 5 actually FACT CHECKS some of the bs Steve fed him about the dog doping scandal, but like why didn't you include this fact checking in the actual documentary?? Why didn't you interview a single veterinarian for any sort of medical opinion???

The whole video really centers more around the human characters than the welfare of the dogs themselves. The only dogs Andrew interacts with are the racing kennel dogs he's shown around and remarks they look healthy and happy. Like could you really not find a single retired racing dog, injured or not, to spend time with if you care so much about covering both sides? There's plenty of retired greyhounds who've had a leg amputated as a result of this industry.

He also makes the argument that why should Grey2k worry so much about greyhounds when there are millions of other dogs in shelters looking for a home, which really doesn't make any sense. The racing industry is contributing to that number, it doesn't matter if they've developed a system for dumping dogs to greyhound adoption orgs, they are still dumping dogs and if these kennels were reeled in then rescues could turn their attention and resources to those other homeless dogs. The pro racing people really like to talk about the racetrack-to-adoption pipeline as a net positive to every party as if it's not churning out hundreds of dogs in need of homes.

In the last bit Andrew interviews a guy outside who makes the point that if greyhound racing were to end, it would be detrimental to the breed itself. I do agree that it can be problematic for the health and function of a working breed to lose its primary purpose...but gambling on race dogs is not the only way to work a greyhound!!! That's the thing that really gets me about this documentary. At no point are we shown any alternative ways that people can enjoy to watch and work these dogs. Organized sports like lure coursing and flyball are great alternatives if you love to see these dogs go fast but not get exploited for money or bred en masse irresponsibly. I'm sure Channel 5 could've easily gotten an interview with a dogsports team if they reached out, but again it really didn't feel like they did any of their homework about this topic and the result is lackluster journalism that paints any opposition to this industry as kooky animal rights activism.

Man the channel 5 video on greyhound racing was dumb

[schneeloewe]

I haven't watched figure skating since the pandemic started. Came back for Beijing 2022 and oh it's a whole circus here