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When the cameras stop rolling, the real drama begins... Join us as we count down the most jaw-dropping scandals that rocked the sports broadcasting world! From stalking incidents to discriminatory comments caught on hot mics, these controversies changed careers and shook the industry to its core.
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00:00When you hear that name, what does it bring up for you?
00:03Oh, it makes me want to throw up and hit him in the face.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most
00:09infamous sports broadcasting scandals involving journalists, pundits, and hosts.
00:14Gary Lineker has been the face of BBC football for more than quarter of a century,
00:19but in the end, the final whistle came a little earlier than he was expecting.
00:2410. Frank Boff
00:27Best known for working as a regular host on the BBC sports show Grandstand from 1968 to 1983
00:33and covering football World Cup content, Boff was one of the UK's most famous TV presenters.
00:38He was one of the few people totally at ease with the hours of live television.
00:43His career went back to the 60s. He'd done Match of the Day, Grandstand,
00:47and 10 years of Nationwide before launching Breakfast Time with Selina Scott and Nick Ross.
00:52Yet in 1988, his reputation was severely tarnished when newspapers reported Boff had been taking
00:57illegal substances and employing sex workers, going against his clean-cut image.
01:02After the BBC fired him, Boff managed to find work elsewhere.
01:05He worked elsewhere. Here he is on commercial radio.
01:09And they invited him back to the Beeb to reminisce about the 1970s.
01:13However, in 1992, further reports were published claiming he'd been involved in additional intimate
01:18acts involving a dungeon. As a result, Boff tumbled into obscurity,
01:21getting work in small shows and radio before passing away in 2020.
01:25Since then, there have been multiple misconduct allegations over his behavior during his heyday.
01:29There were more tabloid stories, and eventually, the work dried up.
01:34A sad end for a master of live television.
01:37Number 9. Sports Illustrated Accused of Using AI
01:40AI can be a useful tool, yet generative AI is a murky area that causes considerable controversy.
01:46But yesterday, the venerable publication became the story.
01:50This after a bombshell report suggesting that not only were articles on the SI website generated by AI,
01:57but that the supposed authors were themselves fake.
02:01With that in mind, in 2023, Sports Illustrated was accused of using artificial intelligence to create articles.
02:07It was found by Futurism that some of the authors had fake names,
02:10and their portraits were found on AI-generated image websites.
02:12It was using these AI-generated headshots and images that they actually found a website
02:18that you could basically type in things like white young adult male with brown hair and blue eyes,
02:24and then like your viewers just saw, get Drew's profile back.
02:29Sports Illustrated soon deleted the accused articles.
02:31However, the articles were then republished by them under other AI-suspected fake writers.
02:36The Arena Group, which licensed Sports Illustrated, claimed the articles were written by Advan Commerce
02:40and had used pseudonyms to protect writers with no AI involvement.
02:44The Arena Group, which publishes Sports Illustrated, said that the content in question came from a third party called Advan Commerce,
02:51which supplied the post.
02:52Sports Illustrated ended that partnership, as you might anticipate.
02:56Regardless, the Arena Group fired its CEO, Ross Levinson, shortly after.
03:008. Charlie Dixon
03:01In 2015, Dixon was hired as the executive vice president of content at Fox Sports.
03:06According to a 2025 lawsuit issued by the network's former host, Julie Stewart Binks,
03:10it didn't take long for Dixon to abuse his position.
03:13She stated she was called to his hotel to discuss Fox's plans for the 2016 Super Bowl.
03:18Instead, Dixon belittled Stewart Binks, shattering her confidence.
03:21He then asked Stewart Binks to his hotel room, where Dixon assaulted her before she could escape.
03:25Stewart Binks then claimed she was pushed out of her job for not accepting Dixon's advances.
03:29Supported by Noshin Farage's lawsuit, which also mentions Dixon's misconduct,
03:34the VP was suspended by Fox before being fired later.
03:377. Jimmy Snyder
03:39Better known as Jimmy the Greek, Snyder was an eccentric commentator on the NFL today.
03:43Boy, you can say that again and in spades.
03:46Known for alluding to sports betting since he had a history in bookmaking,
03:49Snyder's charisma kept viewers engaged.
03:52However, that goodwill was destroyed after an interview with WRC-TV in 1988.
03:56If they take over coaching like everybody wants them to,
04:00there's not going to be anything left for the white people.
04:02Doing a segment about Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday,
04:05Snyder made controversial statements including his belief that black people are better athletes
04:09due to breeding practices during slavery.
04:11Due to the backlash, CBS fired Snyder.
04:13While we deplore the incident this weekend,
04:16we are saddened that our 12-year association with Jimmy had to end this way.
04:20In 1991, he attempted to sue the broadcaster for unfair dismissal,
04:24claiming various issues such as age discrimination, but was unsuccessful.
04:286. Marv Albert
04:29When he retired in 2021, media outlets praised Albert's long NBA and NFL broadcasting career.
04:35Marv Albert, the greatest basketball announcer of all time.
04:39Thanks for a spectacular career.
04:42However, barely mentioned was the scandal that would have cost most people their jobs.
04:46In 1997, Albert was accused of assaulting two women, claims supported by DNA evidence.
04:52However, he originally asserted they were consensual acts.
04:55Albert eventually agreed to a plea deal, earning him a 12-month suspended sentence.
04:58Well, it's been a nightmare.
04:59You know, what else is there to say about it?
05:02And it's been a horrible experience going through this, and particularly for my family.
05:07After a year, the conviction was also expunged from his records.
05:10After pleading guilty, Albert was fired by NBC.
05:13Yet by 1998, he was hired by Madison Square Garden Network,
05:17which the media was uncomfortably joyful about.
05:19The following year, Albert was rehired by NBC before he moved to TNT when the network lost the NBA rights.
05:24Reggie, with tonight's game winding down, I'm thinking, well, this is it.
05:30My last broadcast, and all that's going through my mind is I have been so fortunate to be doing this,
05:35nice photo here, for 55 years.
05:38Number 5.
05:39Richard Keyes and Andy Gray
05:40When Sky Sports began its Premier League coverage in 1992,
05:44Keyes and Gray worked as one of the network's main double acts.
05:46I'm afraid Andy and I have got to get to this point.
05:49There's no point trying to go on.
05:50We will see you on Wednesday.
05:53Goodbye from both of us.
05:54Yet even though they were a fixture of Sky Sports,
05:56there was no coming back from their scandals in 2011.
05:59Firstly, Keyes and Gray were recorded making misogynistic comments about a female football assistant referee.
06:05She also said to me, please, it was just banter.
06:09And I said, I know that, Sian.
06:11I know that.
06:12And you know, she said, I expected it last week at Sunderland.
06:14It's just a little bit of fun.
06:16I said, I know.
06:17But there are other people now who have decided it's not.
06:20This was followed by Gray being recorded grossly asking co-presenter Charlotte Jackson
06:24to tuck his microphone in and by Keyes making inappropriate comments about women.
06:28As a result, Gray was fired from Sky Sports as Keyes resigned.
06:32Weirdly, the latter claimed dark forces behind the scenes were involved in his departure.
06:36The duo eventually found work with Cutter's BN Sports.
06:39Well, I'm going to give you another one and you may laugh at me, right?
06:43I'm going to give you another one.
06:44Number 4. Gary Lineker
06:45Every Saturday night since 1999, many viewers had tuned in to the BBC's Match of the Day,
06:51which shows the highlights of the Premier League to see Lineker anchoring.
06:54What a year it's been for Manchester United.
06:56They've won a treble and remained unbeaten at Old Trafford.
06:59Quite a task then for today's visitors, Leicester City.
07:02However, in recent years, the record-breaking, long-running host has found his political comments
07:06on social media stirring up controversy.
07:07This included comparing the UK government's immigration stance to Germany during World War II.
07:12He was temporarily suspended from his role in 2023
07:16over comments he made about the then-government's asylum policy.
07:20In 2024, it was announced that Lineker was leaving Match of the Day
07:24and the broadcaster after finishing his contractual agreements.
07:27However, in 2025, Lineker shared a video about Zionism that allegedly contained anti-Semitic imagery.
07:32As such, after apologizing, he announced he was leaving the BBC
07:36after hosting the season's final match of the day.
07:40Thank you for all your love and support over the years.
07:42It's been so special, and I'm sorry that your team was always on last.
07:47Time to say goodbye.
07:49Number 3.
07:49Lisa Olsen's New England Patriots Experience
07:52In 1990, while working as a reporter for the Boston Herald,
07:55Olsen went into the locker room of the New England Patriots after practice to speak with the players.
07:59Apparently, a couple of the players had decided to teach me a lesson
08:02that if I was going to be in their locker room,
08:05that they're going to give me what they thought I was in there for.
08:08Instead of getting standard tales to write about,
08:10the journalist experienced a very uncomfortable time.
08:13According to Olsen, players were misogynistic
08:15and made crass comments and gestures toward her while wearing nothing.
08:19That's right.
08:19I wouldn't look.
08:20I saw him approaching me.
08:22So others have told you that that's what's happening.
08:24After the NFL conducted an investigation,
08:26it fined the Patriots $50,000 and three of their players,
08:30including Zeke Mouat, a total of $22,500.
08:34Despite this, Patriot fans tormented Olsen and sent her threats.
08:38Oh, I've had about seven or eight phone calls on my answering machine
08:41calling me names that I probably cannot say on the air.
08:45Nothing, nothing that it can be repeated.
08:46In 1991, she issued a lawsuit against the NFL franchise
08:50and the individuals involved,
08:51which was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.
08:53Number two, Stuart Hall.
08:55After presenting It's a Knockout and commentating on football matches,
08:59Hall's legend was seemingly immortalized in the UK.
09:01Thank you for that rhapsodic, unscripted welcome.
09:05However, in 2012, that all changed.
09:07In the fallout of the Jimmy Savile scandal,
09:10women began coming forward with their stories of Hall abusing them when they were girls.
09:13In 2013, the disgraced presenter admitted to 14 charges,
09:17earning him a bizarrely short 15-month sentence.
09:20The outrage at the lenient sentence resulted in the court of appeals
09:23doubling it to 30 months.
09:25An increase of the sentencing, I think, is very important,
09:28and I'm happy that that has happened.
09:31It's better than the 15 months, without a doubt.
09:34In 2014, Hall was found guilty of another attack,
09:37earning him a further two and a half years in jail.
09:39He was released in 2015 and soon began criticizing his victims publicly,
09:44further tainting his legacy.
09:45Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions.
09:49Tom Morris.
09:50In 2022, Morris was fired from Fox Footy for offensive comments about a colleague.
09:55And within 24 hours, Morris had been sacked,
09:57thus ending 15 minutes of fame that he could certainly have done without.
10:01Skip Bayless.
10:02In 2025, Bayless was issued a lawsuit for harassment by hairstylist,
10:06Nushin Faraji.
10:07A longtime hairstylist is suing former undisputed host Skip Bayless,
10:12Fox Sports, and their parent company, Fox Corporation,
10:14for unspecified damages.
10:17Carissa Thompson.
10:18In 2023, Thompson claimed she made up elements as a sideline sports reporter.
10:22I would make up the report sometimes because, A, the coach wouldn't come out at halftime,
10:27or it was too late, and I was like, I didn't want to screw up the report,
10:29so I was like, I'm just going to make this up.
10:31Marlee Rivera.
10:32In 2023, after making an offensive comment to another journalist,
10:36Rivera was fired by ESPN.
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10:54Number one, Aaron Andrews' stalking incident.
10:57In 2009, Andrews' life was rocked to its foundation.
11:00That year, intimate footage of the then ESPN reporter was leaked online.
11:04What was that feeling when you first saw yourself?
11:06Oh, I think to this day, how many years later, you can still see it on my face.
11:11I was just stunned.
11:12I was in shock.
11:13I was embarrassed.
11:14I was freaking out so much that when I called my parents,
11:19my dad thought I had been injured in a car accident
11:21because I was just screaming bloody murder on the other end.
11:24It was soon discovered that while at the Nashville Marriott in Nashville, Tennessee,
11:28Michael Barrett used a peephole to record her changing.
11:31He was arrested as further unreleased footage was found involving Andrews
11:34at the Radisson Airport Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
11:36In 2010, after pleading guilty, Barrett was sentenced to two and a half years.
11:41Barrett received the maximum sentence, two and a half years in jail,
11:44for posting and trying to profit off the videos, some of which remain in cyberspace.
11:49In 2015, Andrews issued a lawsuit against Nashville Marriott and Barrett for $75 million.
11:54The following year, she was awarded $55 million.
11:57In 2016, Andrews claimed ESPN to dispel publicity.
12:01Stunt rumors wouldn't let her back on air
12:03until she did a TV interview about the experience, adding more trauma.
12:07He said he hoped one day you could forgive him.
12:09Yeah.
12:11Have you?
12:11No.
12:13Do you think you could?
12:14No.
12:15Which other sporting broadcast scandals did we miss?
12:17Let us know below.
12:18There's some breaking news to bring you now.
12:20The former Match of the Day pundit and one show presenter, Jermaine Genis,
12:23has admitted sending inappropriate text messages to two women he worked with.
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