Derek Jeter and the 20 Biggest Cheater Moves in Sports
Derek Jeter, shortstop and captain of the New York Yankees, bastion of all that is good and right and decent in baseball, was caught cheating in a game Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Jeter claimed to have been hit by a pitch from Rays' reliever Chad Qualls late in the game, doubling over and clutching his arm. In actuality, though, Qualls had hit the knob of Jeter's bat, not Jeter himself.
Feigning a beaning is one of the cheapest and oldest tricks in the baseball book, but where does it rank among the cheap moves in all sports?
Here's a list of the 20 dirtiest tricks sports has to offer.
20. Weighing Down Your Bobsled
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Why It's So Bad: Adding weight to a bobsled makes it move down the downhill track quicker. While there are weight limits to what is acceptable for a race, there have been teams who have tried to cheat.
Why It's Not: While the added weight makes the sled move faster, it also makes it hard to turn, increasing the likelihood of a crash.
Who's the Worst? Irving Blitzer is the most notable racer to have been found guilty of trying to weigh down his sled. In Cool Runnings, Blitzer was coach of the Jamaican bobsled team. He's a fictional character, and he's on this list because no one has been caught cheating in this manner.
19. Sneak Attacks In The WWE
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Why It's So Bad: They never see it coming, do they? It seems to happen all the time. Two wrestlers are going at it and suddenly, bam! An elbow, knee, chair, or camera comes whipping across the side of their head, and the fight completely changes.
Why It's Not: I don't know if you've heard, but wrestling is fake. They know it's coming.
Who's the Worst? That would be Edge, king of the sneak attack cheap shot.
18. Faking Pass Interference
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Why It's So Bad: We've all seen it before: a wide receiver sprinting downfield to catch a pass, but when the ball gets there, the wideout is sprawled on the ground, crying for a flag. Replays show that the ball was uncatchable, and the defender didn't touch him. But the flag still flies, and the offense gets the yards.
Why It's Not: Odds are good that the defender did, in fact, interfere at some point.
Who's the Worst? I've seen Terrell Owens do it regularly throughout his career.
17. Epic Goalie Pads
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Why It's So Bad: Well, for one thing, goalie pads have to be under a certain size. So, giant pads are illegal. They're against the rules because it minimizes the amount of space a player has to throw the puck into.
Why It's Not: Who cares if the keeper's pads are too big? If the offense is good, they'll score anyway!
Who's the Worst? Roberto Luongo is infamous for his rather sizable gear, as was Artus Irbe back in the day.
16. Getting More Downforce In NASCAR
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Why It's So Bad: When NASCAR sets a standard for the size of your fins and other parts of the car, you have to be exact. Why? Because if you're not, you can create more downforce on your car and go faster.
Why It's Not: Why should there be a limit on how fast you can go? That doesn't seem like fun, does it?
Who's the Worst? Four-time defending Sprint Cup champ Jimmie Johnson's crew chief, Chad Knaus, has been busted for car violations numerous times over the years.
15. Drawing a Charge
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Why It's So Bad: You know those plays where the tiny point guard drives the lane and the giant center flies backward, usually with a grunt or a cry? That's what we call a flop, and it's also known as cheap and dirty basketball.
Why It's Not: The offensive player seldom gets called for the charge, so the defender needs to take every advantage he can get, including flopping.
Who's the Worst? Vlade Divac was one of the most infamous floppers in NBA history.
14. Leaning Into Pitches
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Why It's So Bad: The pitch is down the middle of the plate, but it hit you! That's a good way to get a fastball in the earhole of your batting helmet your next at-bat.
Why It's Not: There's nothing wrong with taking a base for your team.
Who's the Worst? Craig Biggio, former Houston Astros second baseman, was notorious for leaning into pitches. His managers over the years never seemed to think it was deliberate, though.
13. The Dive In Hockey
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Why It's So Bad: Hockey's a tough-guy sport, played by strong, tough individuals. So, why dive? You accomplish nothing!
Why It's Not: Most divers get called, and typically if a guy goes down in hockey, the other guy was probably doing something illegal anyway.
Who's the Worst? Mike Ribeiro is an awful flopper, and has gotten called for diving on numerous occasions.
12. Faking a Hard Foul In The NBA
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Why It's So Bad: How many times have you said this during an NBA game? "C'mon! Get up! He barely friggin touched you!"
Why It's Not: It gives Vince Carter something to keep himself occupied.
Who's the Worst? Vince Carter. Without a doubt. In fact, they should call it "Pulling a Vince."
11. Pitchers Who Get Manicures On The Mound
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Why It's So Bad: Filing a baseball makes it's movements tougher to predict for a hitter, because the scuffs make the ball dance in the air. So a pitcher found with a nail file on the mound is clearly trying to play dirty.
Why It's Not: Knuckleballs do the same thing in midair. Why punish filers without punishing knucklers?
Who's the Worst? In 1987, Joe Niekro was suspended for having a file in his glove on the mound.
10. Kickers and Punters Get Shot
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Why it's So Bad: We've all seen it. A team lines up for a field goal or a punt, and the defense rushes the kicker. He gets the ball off, but leaves his leg up just long enough for it to get tapped by a rusher, and immediately falls to the ground like he's been shot. The flag flies, the team gets a first down, and you're left cursing the blasted kicker.
Why It's Not: The kicker weighs 90 pounds soaking wet! Cut him some slack!
Who's the Worst? Everybody does it, making it incredibly tough to pick a winner here.
9. Feigning a Beaning
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Why It's So Bad: Because beanings hurt, and faking one means you're faking getting hurt. Which is bad. Plus, like leaning into pitches, it's a good way to ensure you earn your next walk.
Why it's not: If you can get away with it, why not do it?
Who's the Worst? Jeter's the most notable of the recent actors.
8. Sign Stealing
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Why It's So Bad: Well, let's see here. If you steal signals and signs, you know what the defense is going to do, and what the pitcher's throwing, by no fault of their own. Doesn't that seem wrong to you?
Why It's Not: Hey, everybody tries to cheat at baseball. Why shouldn't you?
Who's the Worst? The Phillies got caught stealing signs in 2008, and have still had rumblings following them around lately.
7. Moving Your Golf Ball
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Why It's So Bad: If you move your ball a couple inches when you're putting, that could be moving closer to the hole. If you move on a shot, you could give yourself a better lie. Which is cheating.
Why It's Not: You could do it by accident, but the punishment is the same.
Who's the Worst? Vijay Singh has been busted for moving his ball in a big way in recent years.
6. The Soccer Flop
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Why It's So Bad: Drawing fouls or cards when one is not committed is one of the most rampant cheap tactics in soccer.
Why It's Not: Soccer players take a beating, and routinely get no call. So, what's a little gamesmanship? Besides, everyone else is doing it.
Who's the Worst? Portugal and Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo is an infamous diver, but the list goes around the block several hundred times.
5. Feigning Injury In Soccer
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Why It's So Bad: Much like its cousin the dive, faking an injury is a good way to ensure a penalty is awarded. However, it's ranked higher because it's much more devious. Often used as a means to kill time.
Why It's Not: Hey, if I just missed an easy shot because there was a defender trying to get the ball from me, I'd fake an injury too.
Who's the Worst? Lionel Messi, or any player from Argentina, Italy, or Ghana.
4. The Handball
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Why It's So Bad: It's one of the most blatant acts of cheating in a sport where one of the primary rules is DON'T TOUCH THE BALL WITH YOUR HAND. People get away with it more than you think.
Why It's Not: Considering it breaks a basic football rule, there's no way to justify it.
Who's the Worst? Thierry Henry of France and New York Red Bulls, and former Argentina star Diego Maradona had two of the most infamous handballs ever.
3. Spitballs
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Why It's So Bad: The only player in MLB history to be killed by a pitch was killed by a spitball. Plus, the added weight on one section of the ball makes it travel strangely. So, it's not really fair, now is it?
Why It's Not: It killed a guy. When a pitch kills a guy, it should be banned.
Who's the Worst? Whitey Ford was infamous for putting Vasoline on his zipper to put on the baseball, knowing umpires would never check there. That's right, Captain Kangaroo there is a dirty, rotten cheater.
2. The Chop Block In The NFL
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Why It's So Bad: Chop blocking is when a blocker, typically an offensive lineman, aims for a defenders knees in an effort to sweep his legs and knock them from under him. This often results in serious leg injuries, and head injuries for the blocker.
Why It's Not: There is nothing redeeming about a chop block. It's the dirtiest maneuver in football.
Who's the Worst? Tough to say for sure.
1. Plaster In Your Boxing Gloves
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Why It's So Bad: This includes things like removing the padding from your boxing gloves, dipping your wraps in water to turn them into casts, and wearing plaster wraps. All of those make punches hurt more than they should, and could prove fatal.
Why It's Not: There is no excuse for plaster in the gloves. It's inexcusable.
Who's the Worst? Antonio Margarito had his license suspended in the U.S. after a chemical used in plaster of Paris was found on his wraps, and the commissioner in California said they felt harder than they should have. He's not the first to cheat like this, and he's not going to be the last.
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