BY OLIVER MAUK

The past decade has seen many different public scandals disrupt the world of sports. The way these sports stars are viewed after a scandal is forever changed, and only they know how hard it is to get their images back.

Nobody knows why athletes and coaches do things to put their careers in jeopardy, but they make poor decisions anyway.  At least it keeps life entertaining…at least for the people not involved. There are so many different incidents that it would take hours to explain all of them, so here is a look at three of the biggest scandals in recent memory and some impressions from MHS students.

Bill Belichick Spying Scandal

In 2007, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was caught videotaping the defensive signals of the New York Jets. This was dubbed cheating by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. The Patriots were forced to pay a fine as well as surrender multiple draft selections in the upcoming years. Many people, including Junior Alex Swords, considered this punishment to be far too lenient for something as serious as cheating.

“You should get punished a good amount for that,” states Swords.

“I still like him though because he didn’t deny it, and he apologized to all of his players,” Swords tells the warpath.

No cheating has been reported in the NFL ever since this incident, so perhaps the punishment was enough.

Michael Vick Dogfighting Incident

In 2007, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was arrested for having an illegal dogfighting ring.  He spent 21 months in prison and 2 more on house arrest. After he got out of jail, he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and stated to the press that he was a changed man. Michael Vick is not alone; many other NFL players have gone to jail. Junior Ryan fine thinks that such prison visits are partly due to coaching issues.

“Coaches need to make sure that players’ behavior off the field is good, and they can do that by disciplining the players on the field,” Fine states.

Vick led his team to an NFC East championship last year and had the best statistics of his career. He also set the NFL record for most career rushing yards by a quarterback. Maybe the trip to prison helped Vick, but it certainly grabbed people’s attention and Vick is currently attempting to gain back his torn image.

Tiger Woods Sex Scandal

The story first broke on November 1^st 2009, when a story claiming Woods had an affair with a nightclub manager from New York was published in the National Enquirer. More than a dozen women came forth saying that they had been involved in an affair with Woods. He finally admitted his affairs and announced that he was taking a hiatus from golf to settle his personal issues.

His longest career winless streak came to an end in early December of 2011 when he came from behind to defeat Zach Johnson at the Chevron World Challenge. Many people have mixed feelings about Woods and can’t decide whether or not to root for him.

“I like him,” states Fine. “He is getting back on track.”

“He’s a really good golfer, and I think that even though he had problems, he overcame them,” says Katie Miller.

Many of his sponsors, including Gillette and Gatorade, have dropped him stating that they will never again use him in any sort of promotion. However, Woods continues to be the highest paid athlete in the world making about 90.5 million in 2010.

People are slowly rejoining his side, but he doesn’t have nearly the amount of fan support that he had a few years ago. He will struggle for the rest of his career to gain back the respect that he lost during the scandal of the century.

Sports figures are constantly under the public eye. Anything that they do could tarnish their reputation forever. These are just a few of the huge scandals that have come up in the last few years. Penn State, Reggie Bush, and Ohio State are some other victims of major incidents. Lives were forever changed for all of the people involved.

When a story like one of these comes up, it dominates the news. People are interested in other people’s failures and mistakes, it’s perfectly natural. There are enough athletes out there that more stories will erupt before to much time goes by.