Fishing, poker and now cornhole: a series of unlikely cheating scandals have left some of America’s professionalized pastimes reeling, proving you can cheat at literally anything — and someone out there is going to.
SO WHAT
The ongoing decline in institutional trust is being felt everywhere – even in the most obscure corners of American society.
THE CONTROVERSIES
CORNHOLE
In August, the 2022 American Cornhole League World Championship was rocked by “BagGate,” The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. During a match televised live on ESPN, officials discovered the top-ranked doubles team was using beanbags lighter and thinner than regulation-size. The opposing team which lodged the complaint was also found to be using sub-standard bags.
POKER
Following her surprise all-in bet to take a $269,000 pot during a Hustler Casino Live streaming tournament in late September, Instagram model Robbi Jade Lew was accused of receiving tips via a remote-controlled vibrating sex toy, the Los Angeles Times reported earlier this month. Lew would later return the winnings, but has continued to deny any wrongdoing.
FISHING
An inspection of the entries submitted by Jacob Runyan and Chase Cominsky at the the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament in Cleveland in September unearthed fish stuffed with lead weights and fish fillet, NPR reported last month. The subsequent uproar at the tournament was caught on camera. The two men have been arraigned on felony charges including, cheating, attempted grand theft and possessing criminal tools.
CHESS
Reigning World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen accused 19-year-old Hans Niemann of cheating following their Sinquefield Cup match in September. The controversy sparked an uproar in the chess world, and set off facetious theories that Niemann had used vibrating anal beads to rig his matches. Niemann has denied the accusation and sued Carlsen for $100 million, alleging defamation.
Bonus: IRISH STEP DANCING
Scandal struck the world of competitive Irish step dancing last month with revelations that various teachers and schools had tried to rig competitions by offering judges sexual favors in return for high scores.
BIG PICTURE: Some observers have seized on an apparent epidemic of cheating in what are essentially hobbies as evidence of societal decline.
- A Gallup poll in July found Americans’ trust in many of the country’s major institutions has reached record lows.
- 79% of voters believe the country is “out of control,” per a CBS News-YouGov poll in October.