Financial Transparency Coalition

Aside from the empty seats, the big scandal of the Olympics so far has been the disqualification of eight badminton players for deliberately losing their matches. What’s that got to do with tax justice? Well since you ask…

Manchester United, the world renowned English football club, is facing hard times financially. Although the club’s world class reputation speaks for itself (19 championships and a home to scores of star footballers), the club still depends heavily on cash flow. In 2005, the Glazer family (also owners of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) bought out Manchester United from the London Stock Exchange for $1.47 billion, successfully taking on full ownership of the club (despite vehement public opposition.) Now, 7 years later, Man U is facing a massive debt crisis, according to the Associated Press.

Everyone knows athletes cheat. Cheating has existed for as long as sports themselves. During the ancient Olympic Games in Greece, officials placed pedestals inscribed with athletes’ names at the entrance of the stadium. The names were not of great athletes, but of those who violated the rules of the Games, in order to punish them into perpetuity. In today’s version of public dishonor, our media nationally broadcasts the names and crimes of steroid-injecting baseball players, blood-doping cyclists, and plotting figure-skaters. Not all athletes cheat—even those who have the opportunity to. I would know. For three years, I lived at the...

In April, 31 South Koreans, including 18 professional baseball players, were indicted for sports gambling and match-fixing. Operating both online and on the field, where players deliberately made mistakes to throw matches, these athletes and “brokers,” members of criminal gangs, earned as much as $4,000 per game. This type of activity is not new to South Korea, as volleyball and soccer leagues faced similar instances earlier this year. However, the recent corruption of baseball, Korea’s national pastime, particularly reflects a larger South Korean problem.