Cheating in sports is not a new thing. Many athletes have been cheating since the beginning of modern sports. 

Cheating has also impacted America’s top 3 professional sports. In the early 20th century, the infamous Black Sox scandal happened in Major League Baseball. Later on, doping took the sports world by storm. A referee by the name of Tim Donaghy was caught betting in the games he refereed. 

Many other infamous cheatings have been caught in other sports as well. In 1976, Soviet athlete Boris Onishchenko was caught red-handed cheating during the summer Olympics. Boris was caught making alterations to his fencing weapon to go off at his will. A popular cyclist by the name of Lance Armstrong was also caught doping during his races and was stripped off his multiple titles. 

So why do all these people cheat? What was going through their minds when they committed the act of cheating? What exactly caused them to cheat? All of these things are discussed below in the article so keep reading! 

Winning:

No one can deny that sports are all about being competitive. In many cases, sports can be as influential to influence a certain culture. For example, Baseball is known to be a huge part of American culture. 

Sports can also influence the way some people interact or behave. People support certain teams and players in sports. These people, also known as fans, show emotion towards the sports. They get worried when the team is losing, and excited when their team is winning. Some also get anxiety before the game even starts. Sometimes these fans blame their team’s loss on the home ground disadvantage or cheating. 

Cheating in friendly games is unexplainable. However, when it comes to high stake professional games, all the players, teams, coaches think about is winning. Competitiveness is at the peak and losing is not an option. Due to this, some people would do anything to win, even if that goes against sportsperson-ship and fair play. 

Ego and morality:

Achievement goals are also one of the reasons why some people take the path of cheating in sports sometimes. There are two types of athletes. One that is focussed on a specific task and will work very hard to achieve and complete that task. The other kind is more focused on making themselves better than anyone else. They would focus on making their skills better. These types of athletes are more ego-oriented athletes. These athletes are less likely to care about sportsmanship and morality, which often results in cheating in sports. 

According to certain studies, these types of cheaters are also less likely to feel guilty after cheating. In fact, they feel like cheating has a positive effect on them, thus, feeling less or no remorse. 

So why do people cheat in sports? What drives them to break all the rules and regulations? Well, it’s very simple. 

Winning has a huge reward in sports. The difference between first place and second place is often worth millions of dollars. Not only that, but all of the fame goes to the winner. Almost no one remembers when they came in second or third. There is no option but to win in sports. Cheaters probably found it worth being labeled as a cheater in exchange for all the fame and money that their winning brought. 

Lance Armstrong reportedly had over $218 million at the peak of his career. When he got caught for all his cheating, he was fined over $100 million by the federal government. Even after being caught red-handed and stripped of all his titles, when asked whether he would cheat again if he got the chance, Lance replied yes. Cheaters in sports like Lance Armstrong found it worth giving away all their respect in exchange for some money and fame.

National Sports ID has developed the first online platform and service that is designed to stop cheating in youth sports. Not only does NSID verify the age and grade but also enforces the requirements and rules of the event.