Captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner conspired to cheat as they did not want to lose. They have ended up losing much more than a game of cricket. With a lost opportunity to play cricket comes the disgrace brought to the game, their team and their nation. Causing discomfort to millions of fans who supported the sporting heroes selflessly, unconditionally.
The fallen heroes deservingly suffer financial losses. Insidesport.co had worked out the cost Smith and Warned will be made to pay for being forced out of international cricket for one year. Their respective Cricket Australia contracts, match fee from expected international appearances and coupled with the loss of Indian Premier League and Big Bash League contracts is going to cost Smith and Warner a minimum of ₹ 20 crores each.
Then there will be sponsors, who fearing negative publicity, would dissociate with their brand ambassadors. Warner has already got the first blow from international electronics brand LG.
There are other sporting icons who had to pay a big price for cheating and bringing the sport to disrepute. Once the undisputed king of golf, Tiger Woods leads the list of disgraced heroes who paid a heavy price for their wrong doings.
TIGER WOODS
In 2009 a wide-ranging infidelity scandal did not just ended Woods’ wedding but also cost him time away from gold and lucrative sponsorship deals. Even as big brands like Nike decided to continue their association with the star golfer, Woods’ lost out on a $7 million deal with Accenture and suffered further losses of an approximate $220 million on account of missing out the PGA Tour, TV station and merchandising revenues.
According to a study by University of California researchers, shareholders of Nike, Gatorade and other Tiger Woods sponsors have reportedly lost a collective around $12 billion in the wake of the scandal involving his extramarital affairs.
LANCE ARMSTRONG
He was the undisputed king of cycling road races. He has defeated cancer to dominate the cycling world. His presence in an event would confine the competitors to battle it out for the second position. His mastery, skill, and reputation went skidding in just one blow when Armstrong was established a dope cheat in October 2009.
The disgraced cyclist lost out as many as eight lucrative sponsorship deals in one single day. His sponsors for 18 years Nike, Honey Stinger, bicycle brand Trek, Easton Bell Sports, health club chain 24 Hour Fitness, Anheuser Busch and Radio Shack all announced an end to their brand endorsement contracts with Armstrong, who eventually ended up losing an estimated $150 million in future earnings.
MARIA SHARAPOVA
The former World No 1 and global tennis’ glam girl Maria Sharapova too was embarrassed for being served a two-year ban after being booked for dope cheating. She has been fortunate to get the support of her sponsors. Nike, tennis racquet manufacturers Head and Evian have rather backed the Russian following verdict on failed drugs test. Nike though had initially talked about putting their contract with Sharapova on hold, but they soon announced to continue the brand relationship with the ace athlete.
Eventually, her two-year ban was also reduced to 15 months and she was allowed to return to the circuit in 2017.
