The Biggest Doping in Sports Scandals
By
Will Brown
Contributor Updated: 26 December 2024
Will Brown Contributor
William Brown is a Content Writer with strong expertise in US and global gambling industry trends. Having covered the local sports betting market since the repeal of PASPA in 2018, William approaches his gambling guides with passion and diligence. He is a keen player of online slots, blackjack, and a regular sports bettor.
Doping in Sports Scandals
It’s an unfortunate reality that whenever a high-stakes competition is involved, there will always be participants who try to cheat the rules. Doping in sports is a serious issue that violates codes of fairness and integrity, and there have been numerous high-profile cases of top athletes being caught. But what does doping constitute exactly, and what are the penalties involved? This article explores the topic by looking at the biggest sports doping scandals in history.
Intro to Athletes Who Used Steroids or Other Doping Methods
Before diving into this topic, we’ve provided some context into doping and the types of offenses that it constitutes, from drug use to blood doping. We’ve then provided a summary of some famous athletes banned for drug use or other doping charges.
From there, we’ve discussed six of the biggest doping scandals, including Russia’s Olympic Games ban, the MLB biogenesis scandal, and Lance Armstrong’s career-ruining doping charges. Each scandal was made worse due to the institutionalized cover-ups that had huge impacts on the sports and leagues.
- What is Doping?
- Famous Athletes Who Doped
- Russia’s Olympic Games Ban
- The Biogenesis Doping Scandal
- Lance Armstrong
- BALCO
- Diego Maradona’s Doping Scandal
Doping In Sports: What is It?
Doping in sports refers to any activity that involves the use of prohibited substances or biological techniques to gain an unfair advantage in competition. Doping has been a widespread issue in sports for many decades, with athletes using a variety of substances, including anabolic steroids, blood doping, and stimulants, to enhance their physical abilities.
There are several reasons that the activity is outlawed. For one, doping violates the principles of fair play, but it also poses serious health risks to athletes. If doping were to be left unrestricted, it would impact the integrity of competitions and could encourage athletes to engage in risky behavior.
All major sports organizations have implemented strict anti-doping policies to combat the activity, which is enforced with stringent testing programs to detect performance-enhancing drugs. However, as some of the scandals explored in this article reveal, these tests have been manipulated by athletes who used steroids to thwart positive reads.
Famous Athletes Banned for Drug Use
There have been hundreds of famous athletes caught doping over the past 50 years. Often, they used steroids to help with recovery times or muscle-building, while others used performance-enhancement drugs like stimulants. Certain enhancement medications are permitted if they’re prescribed for a medical reason, though this remains a contentious issue.
After numerous high-profile scandals, sporting regulators are now stricter than ever. The penalties for doping can be severe and include cancellation of title wins, suspensions, and even lifetime bans. The following are just a few high-profile examples of famous athletes banned for drug use.
| Athlete – Sport – Year | Drug – Penalty |
|---|---|
| Ben Johnson – Sprinting – 1988 | Stanozolol – Stripped of Olympic gold, 2-year ban, later banned for life after second violation |
| Marion Jones – Track and Field – 2007 | THG, EPO – Stripped of 5 Olympic medals, 6-month prison sentence, 2-year ban |
| Andre Agassi – Tennis – 1997 | Crystal Methamphetamine – No ban (failed test covered up) |
| Martina Hingis – Tennis – 2007 | Cocaine – 2-year ban, returned multiple Grand Slam titles |
| Randy Barnes – Shot Put – 1990/1998 | Steroid/Androstenedione – 2-year ban, then a lifetime ban |
| Lance Armstrong – Cycling – 2012 | EPO, Testosterone, Blood doping – Lifetime ban, stripped of 7 Tour de France titles |
| Maria Sharapova – Tennis – 2016 | Meldonium – 15-month ban |
| Justin Gatlin – Track and Field – 2001/2006 | Amphetamines/Testosterone – 4-year ban (reduced from 8 years) |
| Diego Maradona – Football – 1991 | Cocaine – 15-month ban |
| Alexander Povetkin – Boxing – 2016 | Meldonium – Indefinite suspension from WBC |
| Tyson Fury – Boxing – 2017 | Nandrolone – 2-year backdated ban |
| Sun Yang – Swimming – 2020 | Blood sample violation – 8-year ban (later reduced to 4 years) |
Russia’s Olympic Ban
Perhaps the biggest doping scandal of all time involved Russian athletes who used steroids and other doping techniques during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Famously detailed in the Netflix film “Icarus”, the doping scheme was revealed by the ex-head of an anti-doping laboratory in Moscow who became a whistleblower.
The whistleblower revealed that the doping scheme was the result of a state-run program to give Russian Olympic athletes performance-enhancing drugs. The Russian government went to extraordinary lengths to hide the use of these drugs, with the secretive intelligence agency involved in the program.
The highly complex scheme allowed Russian officials to access tamper-proof testing bottles and manipulate the results of urine samples. After the whistleblower risked his life to speak out, the World Anti-Doping Agency opened an investigation and found clear evidence of the scheme. This resulted in a four-year ban on Russia at the Olympics in 2019.
The national team was also banned from world championship sporting events. While Russian athletes were permitted to compete at the 2022 Olympic Games, they could not do so under the Russian flag. Further sanctions were added after Russia’s involvement in the Ukraine War, with only 15 Russian athletes competing in the Paris Games as neutral parties.
The Biogenesis Doping Scandal
The Biogenesis doping scandal was a major sports controversy that took place in 2013 and involved several professional baseball players. It was revealed when the Miami New Times detailed the activities of a Florida clinic called Biogenesis of America, which had supplied performance-enhancing drugs to athletes.
The report named numerous prominent Major League Baseball (MLB) stars, including Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun, as having used banned substances supplied by the clinic. MLB launched an investigation into the matter led by its own Department of Investigations with assistance from federal authorities.
After months of investigating, the MLB concluded that there were widespread violations of baseball’s drug policies. This involved the use of performance-enhancing drugs such as testosterone derivatives and human growth hormone (HGH). This saw 13 players from various teams receive suspensions ranging from 50 games to a season.
Some retired voluntarily in response, though most accepted responsibility. In response, the MLB’s anti-doping policies have been intensified. This is important knowledge for those interested in live MLB betting as it indicates fairer betting markets.
Lance Armstrong
While Lance Armstrong’s legacy was once held up as a beacon of sport’s power to inspire, the former cyclist has now become one of the most famous blood-doping athletes in history. After a long investigation into his historical cheating, Armstrong finally admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs in 2013.
As a result, he received lifetime bans from all sanctioned competitions. The Anti-Doping Agency also stripped him of all titles dating back to August 1998. This included seven Tour de France titles from between 1999 and 2005 as well as an Olympic bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics.
Armstrong’s doping program involved EPO blood transfusions, cortisone testosterone, and growth hormone treatments. During his fall from grace, Armstrong also revealed that doping was systematic in professional cycling, with around 50% of the cyclists competing during his time proven to be doping.
Interestingly, this was shortly after the time of the infamous Festina cycling team doping scandal of 1998. This broke after police found illegal drugs, medical equipment, and documents that implicated Festina team members in the use of performance-enhancing substances. Over 50 people were charged or convicted for their involvement in the program.
Armstrong’s scandal brought further disrepute to cycling’s major organizational bodies, especially since he was seen as a bastion of fairness after the Festina scheme. In response, the World Anti-Doping Code implemented key changes to strengthen its testing procedures against doping in sports.
The BALCO Scandal
In 2003, the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) was implicated in a doping program that supplied multiple professional and amateur athletes with prohibited performance-enhancing drugs. The scheme involved elite track stars Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery, and Dwain Chambers, as well as numerous Major League Baseball players like Barry Bonds.
The five-year investigation by the Anti-Doping Agency exposed many high-profile athletes, with several suspensions handed out across all levels of sport. It also caused an overhaul of anti-doping regulations due to the severe implications of health risks associated with illegal drug use within competitive sports.
Diego Maradona and Ephedrine
Argentinian soccer player Diego Maradona has long been considered to be one of the greatest players ever. He is widely remembered for his Hand of God goal and for leading Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup. However, his career with the national team was cut short after a string of scandals involving recreational drugs.
At the 1994 World Cup, Maradona tested positive for five different variants of the stimulant ephedrine. This followed a 15-month suspension in 1991 due to cocaine use. The new revelations saw him kicked out of the tournament, and he never played for Argentina again. While this example of doping in sports didn’t necessarily relate to his on-field performance, his ban was the result of a zero-tolerance approach to illicit substances.
