The 30 Greatest Sports Conspiracy Theories of All-Time - Elliott Kalb [122]
Hundreds of billions of dollars are spent each year on NFL broadcast rights, licensed merchandise sales, and ticket sales. This is not even to mention the billions that are spent, legally and illegally, gambling on what is generally perceived to be a fairly contested game. In order to keep that cash cow producing sweet, green (unpasteurized) milk, Commissioner Goodell had no choice but to protect those interests at any cost. He could not let it be revealed that the league’s model franchise cheated, because there’s no stuffing that cat back into the bag once it’s out.
And really, what other choice did Goodell have but to cover up? Could he have stripped the Patriots of their three Lombardi trophies and awarded them to the teams they had beaten in those Super Bowls? How would he justify that decision to the teams the Patriots had vanquished in the earlier playoff rounds? And would he have had to refund whatever money was spent by the networks, fans, and Nevada sportsbooks on games where it had been proven that one team had been cheating? The ramifications of that sort of scandal would be enough to take down the league, and Goodell knew it. So he told Belichick to fall on his sword so we could all live happily ever after. Well, all of us except Al Davis.
CONCLUSION(S):
ON THE TUCK RELE CONSPIRACY THEORY:
ON THE SPYGATE CONSPIRACY THEORY, INCLUDING
COMMISSIONER GOODELL’S ROLE IN A COVER-UP:
#30
Did Chinese Olympic hero Liu Xiang fake an injury in the 2008 Beijing Games?
If you were to query a cross-section of average American sports fans, chances are most of them wouldn’t recognize the name Liu Xiang. Despite winning the Olympic gold medal in the 110-meter hurdles in the 2004 Athens games, and setting the world record in the event two years later at the IAAF Super Grand Prix in Lausanne, Switzerland, Liu hasn’t quite penetrated the American consciousness.
In his native China, however, the 26-year-old Liu is a household name, as popular and celebrated as heroes like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are stateside. His image appears spread across advertising billboards throughout the country, the result of his numerous, lucrative endorsement deals with nineteen different brands, including major international corporations like Nike, Coca-Cola, Visa, and Cadillac. A 2007 Forbes magazine article estimated Liu’s annual endorsement income to be in the range of $23 million dollars ($9 million more than basketball superstar Yao Ming), and his legs are reported to have been insured for $14.6 million by Chinese insurance giant Ping An.
His victory in Athens was the first by a Chinese track athlete in an international competition, and it didn’t take long for him to become a symbol of the country’s national pride. Referring to his gold medal triumph in the moments after the race, Liu told reporters in Athens that his performance “changes the opinion that Asian countries don’t get good results in sprint races. I want to prove to all the world that Asians can run very fast.” With those words, Liu became the hero of 1.3 billion people.
After proving himself on the track not only in Athens, but also in Lausanne, Liu was the obvious choice to be the face of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, by far China’s greatest hope for a track and field medal. Liu represented the new China, an athlete that had confidently shattered the stereotype that track and field could only be dominated by western athletes. His breakthrough was as significant for the Chinese people as Jackie Robinson’s had been for black Americans.
The expectations heaped upon Liu’s shoulders for another gold medal was immense, the prevailing sentiment throughout the nation being that anything less than another gold medal would be a failure. This was highlighted in a 2007 press conference when Liu’s coach Sun Haiping said, “Leaders