#scandals

#scandals

The NBA is never boring -- and this season is no different. There have been surprising starts, both in good (we see you, Pistons) and bad (unfortunately, we see you, too, Clippers) ways. There have been scandals (yes, plural) that have cast a shadow over multiple franchises. There has been one ignominious ending ( maybe) for an all-time great in Chris Paul, and we could potentially be seeing the last season of LeBron James, arguably the greatest player in the history of the sport.

From time to time in this column, I like to look at something I wrote in the past and see if it holds up to retrospective scrutiny. Early last year, after the baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani and his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara were ensnared in a major gambling scandal that ended with Mizuhara in jail, I wrote a column titled "Online Gambling Is Changing Sports for the Worse," in which I expressed concern for the "integrity of the game," and worried that betting by athletes and others around them—Ohtani himself denied any involvement and was never charged with anything—might begin occurring with such frequency that it would cause the public, including children, to lose faith in what they were watching.

Paula Deen's empire crumbled after a deposition revealed her use of racial slurs and problematic fantasies about plantation-themed weddings. She had reached the peak of celebrity chef stardom, yet one admission in a legal deposition sent it all crashing down.

Ward McAllister, a lawyer from Georgia, married into wealth and influenced American high society by creating the concept of 'the 400' and advising the elite on emulating aristocracy.

Juan Carlos, once viewed as a democratic reformer, faced scandals that led to his abdication in 2014, leading to his exile in Abu Dhabi since 2020.

This podcast dedicated to the untold tales behind history's so-called sidechicks features a tongue-in-cheek approach, highlighting the stories of figures like Madame de Montespan.

Swaggart encapsulated his downfall in a tearful 1988 sermon, in which he wept and apologized but made no reference to his connection to a prostitute. 'I have sinned against you,' Swaggart told parishioners nationwide. 'I beg you to forgive me.'

"The problems with Hope Florida's tax return underscores the financial challenges that have plagued the two-year-old foundation and prompted state lawmakers this spring to launch an investigation into the charity, trumpeted by Ron and Casey DeSantis."

Hegseth's actions and decisions, from mishandling sensitive information to purging diverse leadership, jeopardize the Pentagon's operational effectiveness, questioning America's readiness for potential crises.