In the 20th century, cheating in sports consisted of gambling, steroids and corked bats. Fast-forward to 2020, where technology is at an all time high, and in the matter of four months, three scandals involving modern technology have occurred. 

The Houston Astros, World Series winners in 2017, the Boston Red Sox, World Series winners in 2018 and, to no one’s surprise, the New England Patriots have all been accused or proven of cheating.

After an investigation prompted on Nov. 12, 2019, by the MLB, it was concluded that the Astros stole signs. 

This resulted in the Astros firing manager AJ Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow, and both of them are serving a one-year suspension from the MLB. To top it off, the team got fined $5 million. The Astros also lost their first and second round picks for 2020 and 2021. 

This is probably the right thing to do if you are the Astros. By firing your GM and manager, it shows that your organization does not believe in cheating, which helps to clear cheating from their organization’s resume.

As for punishments handed out by the MLB, yes, they are harsh, but again it shows that the league will not tolerate cheating, and it should help deter cheating in the future.

Shortly after it came out that the Astros cheated, the Red Sox also got accused of similar accusations on Jan. 7. Alex Cora, former manager of the Red Sox, was actually a part of the Astros staff as a bench coach in 2017, so it’s no surprise that they are now in the heat of the MLB cheating scandals. Cora agreeing to part ways with the Red Sox on Jan. 14 only leads me to believe that consequences for the Red Sox will be even bigger if proven guilty.

Overall, these scandals are some of the worst in sports history, and it shines a horrible light on the MLB as a whole. It’s gotten to the point where the MLB has proposed the idea of having a security guard to escort players into the clubhouse just to ensure that players do not use the bullpen camera to steal signs.

It is awful that America’s past-time has gotten to this point. We shouldn’t have to worry about people cheating, and players should all play fairly. It is a game after all.

The MLB isn’t the only league having issues with technological cheating.

We all have heard of “Deflate Gate” and how the New England Patriots used deflated footballs for their advantage in the 2014-15 playoffs. The Pats are in familiar water when it comes to cheating, but this time is different. 

According to ESPN, “The Patriots acknowledged their production crew inappropriately filmed the field and sideline during the Bengals’ Dec. 8 game against the Cleveland Browns… but the Patriots did not inform the Bengals nor the NFL.”

This is absolutely ridiculous! There is no reason for the Patriots to be at a BENGALS-BROWNS game. What is the point of trying to steal the play calls of a team that was 1-14 at the time? This is very confusing because the Patriots didn’t cheat against the Ravens or Chiefs, but instead against the 1-14 Bengals!

The consequences are not yet decided, but we are led to believe that they will be harsh due to their previous history.

These three circumstances are all prime examples of how modern technology is ruining the fairness of professional sports. Way to go, Astros, Red Sox and Patriots, way to show children aspiring to play sports that it is okay to cheat in life to be successful.