2020 Worst Moments In Sports
- Tyler Bitton
- Jan 3, 2021
- 9 min read
Updated: Jan 7, 2021
TYLER BITTON - COUCH POTATO SPORTS
Well, we did it, we made it through 2020. A year that started like any other ending up taking an unexpected turn. But through the toughness of the year there were some great moments and not-so-great moments in the sporting world.
Let’s take a look back at some of those moments starting with the Top 5 worst moments from this past year.
5. Rudy Gobert
It seems like ages ago that this new normal was just beginning. But for our 5th worst moment of the year, we go back to March 9th, 2020 when Rudy Gobert decided to poke fun at the deadly virus.
To Gobert's credit, no one knew of the up and coming pandemic which would rock the landscape of the world for the remainder of the year. Gobert’s Utah Jazz were getting set to take on the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors. During a media availability session that day Gobert decided to make fun of the new NBA guidelines set in response to COVID-19. The guidelines, among others, were to forbid reporters from entering the locker room.
So knowing this information, at the end of Gobert’s media session, he decided to place and wipe his hands all over the reporter's mic’s that were placed in front of him (see video). At the time it seemed like a funny gag, but little did we know that it would be one of the most senseless acts of the year.
Only two days later the Jazz were on the road to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder when the unthinkable happened. As the pandemic was worsening in North America many people started to worry and wonder about the future of the world, but for sporting fans the uncertainty became clear that night in Oklahoma City. Moments before tip-off officials were notified that two Jazz players had tested positive for COVID-19. It just so happened that one of the players who tested positive was Gobert and the other Donovan Mitchell.
Directed by the NBA, players from both teams were ushered back to their locker rooms and the game was postponed. Fans in attendance were notified of the postponement and were asked to exit the building calmly (see video). At this point, most people knew of the situation and the reality of this virus was becoming clear.
Later that night the NBA decided to postpone other games and ultimately the season (see video) which started a chain reaction of other sporting leagues to follow suit and postponed their leagues as well.
To this day this incident involving Gobert remains as one of the more memorable moments as it was the start of what is now the new normal in sports. For this reason, Rudy Gobert lands at number 5 on our list for the worst sporting moments of 2020.
4. The Astros Cheating Scandal
Once again we go back to the start of the year for this unforgettable and worst moment in sports for the year 2020.
Although the reports of the Astros cheating didn’t happen in 2020, the formal investigation by the MLB and ultimately the confirmation did. And so that is why this lands at number 4 on our list.
In November of 2019, Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich at the Athletic produced an article describing the team’s activities in seasons before the article being published. A former pitcher for the Astros in 2017, Mike Fiers, told Rosenthal and Drellich that the organization used a video camera in center field to film the opposing catcher's signals to the pitcher regarding the next pitch. From there the team would use various audio cues to signal to the batter what type of pitch was coming next. Though this the Astros had a significant advantage at the plate which ultimately made them one of the toughest teams to play against in the MLB.
After The Athletic’s publication, the MLB opened an investigation into the reports of the potential cheating scandal and confirmed the allegations in January of 2020.
As a result of these confirmed allegations, the MLB suspended general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch for the entire 2020 season. However, the Astros fired both Luhnow and Hinch following the MLB’s suspension of them both. The team was also fined the maximum of 5 million and forfeited their first and second-round picks in the 2020 and 2021 drafts. As for the players, none were punished because they had been given immunity by MLB in exchange for their cooperation.
After these punishments, it was also determined that Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora also had a hand in the cheating when he was serving as the bench coach for the team in 2017. He too was suspended by the league for the 2020 season but was rehired by the Sox following his suspension.
Week’s before the start of the pandemic all eyes were on the Astros organization as they opened spring training in Florida. José Altuve and Alex Bregman started if off with apologies to the whole league and its fans for cheating and winning a World Series by doing so. The pandemic ended up being a saving grace for the Astros as the team didn’t have to face the boos of the crowds or the punishment of opposing teams.
Without a doubt, this scandal to start the 2020 year was one of the most memorable sporting events and is why it lands at number 4 on our list.
3. MLB’s Pandemic/2020 Season
Staying with the MLB we find their lack of proper management this season as a moment that shouldn’t go unrecognized. For that, they land at number 3.
It’s worth mentioning at the top that although their improper management is why they land on this list they were the first major league in the big 4 to play a season with traveling, etc. This lead to the other big 4 leagues getting their seasons with traveling off the ground. There was always going to be the first league to do so and the MLB was it. I think as sports fans we have to thank them, however, they didn’t do a good enough job on some fronts.
To start we have to go back to our 4th worst moment in this year of sports. The handling of the Astors cheating scandal was without a doubt the worst handling of any major matter by a big 4 league in the history of sports.
As mentioned above the Astors were lucky to only come away with a slap on the wrist and still be able to hang onto their 2017 World Series title and have none of their players punished in the process. Not only that, due to the pandemic the Astors only had to endure a 60 game season, and their fired manager, A.J. Hinch, was re-hired by the Detroit Tigers following the conclusion of his season-long suspension.
Going into the season itself it wasn’t hard to foresee the challenges the MLB would have to face traveling around the most highly infected country in the world to complete their season. But more could have been done to ensure the safety of the players and personnel. This includes more regular testing, a better outbreak plan, and ensuring the players kept to the ballpark and their accommodations only.
This season the MLB also had problems with their policies into what the players can express and can not express. At the helm of these issues was pitcher Trevor Bauer. Before Bauer’s start on August 19th, he posted on social media a pair of cleats he had designed that he was planning on wearing.
The cleats had a picture from the meme that went viral of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly after a game against the Astros where Kelly threw at some of the players. The incident landed Kelly a five-game suspension which prompted Bauer to take action. On the other side, the cleats said “Free Joe Kelly.” The MLB caught this and notified the Cincinnati Reds, Bauer’s team, that if he is seen wearing these cleats he would be removed from the game and could face discipline.
According to new rules the MLB had put in place this past season, players would be allowed to express themselves as long as it wasn’t offensive or political. But Bauer said, "Apparently that's not the truth; apparently that's just ... if they agree with it or not.”
This back and forth between the MLB and Bauer continued all season long which wasn’t fair to Bauer who according to the rules was doing nothing wrong.
From season into the postseason, the problems continued to pile up for the MLB. With only a 60 game schedule for the season, the league decided to open up the postseason format and include 16 teams instead of 10. This meant a few more games than usual but the league made the right call to make the postseason into a bubble. This meant no traveling between ballparks other than to get to where the AL and NLDS, AL and NLCS, and World Series would be played. All teams would be bubbled into a hotel near the ballpark as we saw with the NHL and NBA.
The World Series and conclusion of the season was held in Texas at the the Rangers' new ballpark GlobeLife Field. The Dodgers were looking to finally win that elusive championship but would have to beat the Tampa Bay Rays to do so. In a great series that saw both teams going to 6 games, the Dodgers walked away with the prize. But it wasn’t the Dodgers winning the World Series that made headlines.
During the 6th inning, third baseman Justin Turner unexpectedly left the game for undisclosed reasons. Many believe it was a potential injury but moments before the final outs of the game it was reviled that Turner had tested positive for COVID-19.
Following the game, the Dodgers were celebrating a championship with as many precautions they could take. All players were wearing masks and Turner was self-isolating in the Dodger clubhouse. That was until moments after the team was presented with the commissioners' trophy.
Turner had made his way back onto the field to celebrate with his teammates and their families. It was reported that Turner was actively encouraged to leave the isolation room and join his teammates on the field for the championship group photo. Following the celebration, the MLB opened an investigation into the matter but decided not to punish Turner for disregarding protocol.
It was a decision that many disagreed with as it should have been and could have been handled in a much better way.
Once aging we all knew that completing a season, even a shortened season, during a pandemic was going to be no easy task. However, there are many ways situations could have been handled better this season.
2. Black Mamba Forever
The title for our second-worst sports moment in 2020 says it all. Once again we go back to early in the year before the pandemic when we lost a legend far too soon in Kobe Bryant.
Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were on their way via helicopter to a basketball game at his Mamba Sports Academy. At approximately 9:45 am the helicopter crashed and caught fire killing everyone on board include 7 others who were traveling with the Bryant’s to the game.
The deaths of Kobe and Gianna were felt all over the sporting world especially the NBA family who held many pre-game ceremonies including an 8 and 24-second clock violation after his reported death on January 26, to pay tribute to Kobe’s numbers that he wore during his 20-year career with the LA Lakers.
11 days after the tragic accident a celebration of life for Kobe and Gianna was held at the Staples Centre in downtown Los Angeles where one of the greatest NBA players of all time, Micheal Jordan, gave a moving speech to his lost friend.
There’s no doubt that the morning of January 26th remains as one of the grimmest days the sporting world saw in 2020. If it wasn’t for the pandemic this moment would have landed at number 1.
1. The Cancellation of Sports
I don’t think there was any doubt what would be at number 1 on our list. The cancellation of all sports hasn’t been seen in anyone’s lifetime before.
As news and information was changing by the hour in the early stages of the pandemic so to was the sporting world. If you go back to number 5 on our list, the night of the postponement of the Jazz and Thunder game started a chain reaction of other games and leagues postponing their seasons as well.
As the pandemic was picking up past many people wondered if we would ever see sports or our favourite athletes again. But as the world was adapting so to was sports. Many athletes decided to take to the online formats in our world to give people something to occupy their lives.
Video game streams, zoom interviews, and at-home challenges between athletes were all becoming the new norm as we sat and wanted for sports to return safely. And as we waited hard work was being done to assist with relief efforts in the fight against COVID. Work was also being done behind the scenes to try and get sports back up and running.
By July most sports leagues had resumed their seasons or had a plan in place to resume safely. And although fans still can’t attend games like we used to, hopefully, we're on our way to better days where we can cheer on our favourite teams in a packed stadium.
So there you have it, our top 5 worst sporting moments from 2020. It’s been a tough one but hopefully, 2021 will see better moments than worst moments.
Stay tuned as Couch Potato Sports will bring you the top 5 best moments from the year 2020.
Comments