Pete Rose
No professional athlete in American sports is so synonymous with “scandals” as Pete Rose. That fact is incredibly sad, given how much he accomplished as a player: finishing as the all-time leader in hits and games played, while winning three batting titles, two Gold Gloves, and three World Series titles.
But in August of 1989, MLB levied a lifetime ban against Rose after accusations that Rose gambled on baseball games in which his team played in, while he played for and managed his Cincinnati Reds. As part of his lifetime ban, he became permanently ineligible from being inducted into the Hall of Fame. While the initial accusations remained only at that level, documents in recent years corroborated that Rose, in fact, did bet on games in which he could directly affect the outcome through his participation.