The Biggest Australian Sport Controversies
Like any other part of the world, Australian sport has its fair share of controversies. There are various issues cutting through Aussie disciplines that a scandal never seems to be too far away.
Scandals have occurred both on the field and off it, and some have even involved spectators in sports stadiums around the country. From racism and homophobia, to controversial athletes and different forms of cheating, they feature in some of Australia's major sporting scandals. Here is a look at a few of the most infamous incidents.
Nicky Winmar vs. Racism
Given Australia's historical past, unfortunately racism rears its ugly head all too often, and no person faced them head-on as Nicky Winmar, a St Kilda legend. In 1993, he was abused by Collingwood supporters in the crowd at Victoria Park, and he responded by lifting his jersey and proudly showing his skin colour. Previously, he was on the receiving end of racial abuse from Hawthorn's Dermott Brereton. In the 1990 season incident, he reacted by attacking Brereton, for which he received a 10-match ban.
Sandpaper Gate
David Warner, Steve Smith, and Cameron Bancroft were at the centre of one of the most controversial incidents to occur in world cricket. In the incident, which came to be known as Sandpaper Gate, Bancroft was caught on camera trying to alter one side of the ball using sandpaper in a match against South Africa at Newlands Cricket Ground. According to Herald Sun, later details revealed that Warner was the one who came up with the idea while Cameron implemented the plan. Smith was aware of Bancroft's intention and failed to stop him, which earned him a one-match suspension by the International Cricket Committee. Bancroft received three demerit points and was fined 75% of his match fee. Australian Cricket gave them further bans, suspending the trio with Smith and Warner getting one-year suspensions and Bancroft nine months.
Adam Goodes racial abuse and eventual retirement
One of the most disappointing sagas in AFL was the ordeal Adam Goodes, a former Sydney Swans player, underwent. In fact, you could make a racial profiling essay out of it. After all, it took two documentaries five years later for Australian Football League and the 18 clubs to apologise for the hate and lack of understanding he went through. It all started in 2015 when Adam pointed out a young fan in the MCG crowd over racial abuse. Opposing fans in that game and subsequent games took on booing him in stadiums around the country. This treatment and the media's negative attention made Adam, a two-time Brownlow medallist, walk away from the game.
Underarm ball controversy
In 1981, a big one-day international cricket match was taking place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Australia was playing against New Zealand in the third of a five-match ODI series. The series was tied 1-1, and New Zealand needed seven runs to win the match or six to tie it during the second innings. Knowing this, Australian captain Greg Chappell instructed the bowler Trevor Chappell to deliver an underarm ball. Trevor was Greg's younger brother, and underarm bowling was still legal then but frowned upon. Because of the underarm bowl, the New Zealand batsman could not get enough power to hit a six. The game kicked up a huge storm and furious reaction worldwide as the team representing Australia was accused of going against the spirit of the game. The ICC later banned underarm bowling following the incident.
Nick Kyrgios Tiff with Stan Wawrinka
Nick Kyrgios has managed to build himself a reputation as the undisputed bad boy of tennis. At times, this has come at a heavy price, including forfeiting rankings and tournament earnings. His temper tantrums do not spare rivals either. In 2015, as Daily Telegraph reports, in a Rogers Cup match against Stan Wawrinka, an on-court microphone caught Kyrios telling Wawrinka that Thanasi Kokkinakis had slept with Wawrinka's girlfriend. For his unsolicited information, Nick was fined $25,000 and suspended for 28 days by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
Biggest National Rugby League penalty
In 2010, the Melbourne Storm were fined about $1.6 million, which included a $500,000 fine and a refund of $1.1 million in prize money. In addition, the side was stripped of its 2007 and 2009 NRL titles and three other minor competition titles. This is after it was discovered that the side had been breaching the salary cap for a significant period. Apparently, the NRL club ran a dual-contracting system. There were side letters that promised extra payments to players like Cameron Smith, Billy Slater, and Greg Inglis. The club made under-the-table payments to these players through means like cars, house renovations, and boats, all of which were facilitated by third-party clients. The probe found that the club had made payments worth $1.7 million over the cap amount over a period of five years.
