Pittsburgh Steelers Cheating History

44
PIT
TL;DR:

• the STEELERS are WELL ABOVE AVERAGE NFL cheaters!

• they have a CheatScore of 44?

• they've executed 11 real cheats! ?

• share page: http://YourTeamCheats.com/PIT?

 

All Pittsburgh Steelers Cheats:

Impedegate (2013) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Pittsburgh Steelers

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: With 6:26 left in the third quarter of their 2013 Thanksgiving night game in Pittsburgh -- aka The Paris of Appalachia -- Baltimore Ravens receiver Jacoby Jones took a kickoff back and had to alter his path because Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin had stepped onto the field. Jones returned the kick 73 yards, but was tackled by defensive back Cortez Allen on the play, and Baltimore had to settle for a field goal on the drive.

Said NFL VP of Officiating Dean Blandino: "In that instance, the referee could basically penalize the team whatever he deems equitable, which could include giving the Ravens a touchdown. That's not the case here, but certainly coach Tomlin was in the white. He should have been flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct."

In December 2010, the league fined the New York Jets the same amount after a sideline wall established by strength coach Sal Alosi resulted in Alosi tripping Dolphins cornerback Nolan Carroll. Alosi was suspended indefinitely by the team and resigned in January 2011.

VICTIM: Baltimore Ravens (Specifically, WR Jacoby Jones)

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was fined $100,000 by NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Ray Anderson for stepping onto the field during his team's 22-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers could have lost 2014 draft picks if the play had impacted the Ravens 2013 playoff standing. It didn't.

After reading about Tomlin's bold cheat, one curious Twitter user proposed the following thought experiment: "can you imagine if Belichick tripped a player running to the endzone? Seal team 6 would be on its way to foxborough".

SHARE:

AWARDS EARNED: Cojones Ferreas!Schoolyard Cheating!Goalie for the Dart Team!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 10.0

Steroidgate (1970-2007) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Pittsburgh Steelers

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: Richard Rydze, a Pittsburgh Steelers team doctor from 1985 to 2007, was indicted in 2012 for his long history of purchasing and illegally prescribing anabolic steroids, human growth hormones and painkillers. The physician was also charged with health care fraud for falsely diagnosing more than 90 patients with pituitary dwarfism so they could receive human growth hormones and drugs meant to counteract the side-effects of steroid use.

Rydze was also on the customer list of an Orlando, FL, pharmacy that was raided in February 2007 as part of an interstate steroids ring. Rydze was questioned then about buying $150,000 worth of testosterone and human growth hormone on his credit card in 2006, but was not charged in that investigation.

The Steelers dropped Rydze from their roster of doctors in June 2007.

In the decade prior to Rydze's tenure, many Steelers also admitted to using steroids to gain an advantage. Former Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw admitted in 2008 that he used steroids during his playing career. Bradshaw said on Dan Patrick's radio show: “We did steroids to get away the aches and the speed of healing. My use of steroids from a doctor was to speed up injury, and thought nothing of it. It was to speed up the healing process, that was it. It wasn't to get bigger and stronger and faster.”

Former Saints coach Jim Haslett accused the '70s Steelers of being "the ones who kind of started" steroid use in the NFL.

Said Haslett: "It started, really, in Pittsburgh. They got an advantage on a lot of football teams. They were so much stronger (in the) '70s, late '70s, early '80s.

Former Vikings and Giants quarterback Fran Tarkenton corroborated Haslett's story in a June 2009 interview, saying: "We’re playing the Steelers in the Super Bowl in ’75 or ’76 … we’re on the field warming up, and I see these Steeler offensive linemen with their sleeves rolled up, and they've got these bulging muscles. Later, we found out it that … these guys were juiced … all of them."

"We talk now about (former baseball stars) Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds. But how about the Steelers of that era? Did that make a difference? Yeah, it made a difference. It increased their performance.”

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No but ... it's more probable than not that this was cheating

PUNISHMENT: Predictably, the Steelers and Rydze denied that he ever gave steroids to any Steelers players because the team would never compromise the wellbeing of their players or the integrity of the game by using performance enhancing substances. More likely, with the Steelers long history of steroid cheating, having this doctor on staff made perfect sense for the team. Once his name was released in 2007 as a customer of the steroid company, however, the Steelers wisely decided to go in another direction.

The Steelers and Chargers were well out in front of their opponents on leveraging steroids to gain a competitive advantage. During this period, the Steelers also happened to win 4 Super Bowls. It is more probable than not that the Steelers teams of the 70s were so heavily juiced compared to the rest of the league that these Super Bowls are deeply tainted.

SHARE:

AWARDS EARNED: Everyone Was Doing It!A Decade of Deceit!Points for Creativity!Champs of the Cheat!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 8.0

Salarycapgate (2000) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Pittsburgh Steelers

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: The Pittsburgh Steelers lost their third-round pick in the 2001 draft and were fined $150,000 by the National Football League yesterday for violating salary cap rules with the retired offensive tackle Will Wolford.

The league determined that the Steelers made an undisclosed commitment to pay Wolford $400,000 that violated the league's rules governing the size of team payrolls. The Steelers were ordered to pay Wolford the $400,000 and another $150,000 to the league as a penalty.

The $400,000 was counted against the team's salary cap.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: The Steelers were fined $150,000, lost their third-round draft pick and were ordered to immediately pay the $400,000 they commited to Wolford.

SHARE:

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 4.0

Shouldergate (1978) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Pittsburgh Steelers

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: In May of 1978, the Pittsburgh Steelers were caught running an illegal off-season practice and stripped of their third-round pick in the 1979 draft by commissioner Pete Rozelle. Steelers players -- 29 rookies and about 15 veterans -- were discovered practicing in pads during a late May rookie camp, which was not allowed by NFL rules. The team tried to cover-up their cheating by doing it in a closed practice in Three Rivers Stadium, but local beat write John Clayton (now with ESPN) discovered the infraction and published it in the June 1, 1978 edition of The Pittsburgh Press: "Steelers' Secret Slips Out".

Rather than acknowledge that he broke the rules and apologize for the infraction, Steelers head coach Chuck Noll instead lashed out at Clayton calling his report "espionage." The 1991 book False Glory: Steelers And Steroids: the Steve Courson Story went deeper into the controversy, noting that Noll knowingly broke the "no pads" rule, but since he didn't agree with it, he didn't care.

At the time, Article 20, Section 4 of the league's collective bargaining agreement with the players stated that a club could have "no contact work or use of pads (except helmets) as part of an off-season training camp." Ironically, Steelers team's president Dan Rooney was instrumental in negotiations to get the "no pads" rule included in the collective bargaining agreement with the league's players.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: As reported in the June 27, 1978 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "Tarnish on the Black and Gold", the Steelers were stripped of their third-round selection in the 1979 draft.

The late Phil Musick, sports editor for the paper and the writer of that article, noted that the Steelers reputation around the league was becoming a "bit unsavory" because the Steelers "don't pay attention to the rules." He also noted that former Browns and Bengals head coach Paul Brown warned the Pittsburgh owner that the Steelers were "getting a rep as cheats." Musick concluded his analysis by wondering how the Steelers would react to "insinuations from within the league that the Steelers are twisting the NFL rules into a granny knot to get a competitive edge."

SHARE:

AWARDS EARNED: Spawn the Spoof!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 4.0

PEDSgate (3x since 1991) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Pittsburgh Steelers

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: Performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) are used by players to illegally improve athletic performance above what legal training and preparation can do.

Players who illegally improve their performance unfairly penalize players who follow the rules. They not only put those players at risk for physical injury, but they also affect their economic livelihood by impacting their perceived value and their ability to secure appropriately-valued playing contracts.

SEVERITY = 0.5 video cameras per punished incident. Includes all documented infractions from 1960 to present with this Wikipedia page as the primary source.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: Each players was suspended for four games for violating the league's PEDs policy.

SHARE:

AWARDS EARNED: Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 3.0

Crampgate (2012) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Pittsburgh Steelers

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: In November of 2012 the NFL fined Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders $15,000 and the Steelers organization another $35,000 for Sanders' faking of an injury against the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 21, 2012.

Said NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Ray Anderson: "Despite the account given by Sanders during our November 2nd meeting, neither the video sequence of the pertinent plays nor the observations of the on-field official support Sanders's contention that he was in severe pain, either before, while falling to the ground, lying on the ground, or when he was being assisted in leaving the field," said in a letter to the Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert and Sanders.

"Moreover, after missing the one play that is mandatory pursuant to the playing rules, and receiving no apparent treatment, Sanders returned to the game for a fourth down punt, on which he out sprinted all of his teammates 26 yards down the field, arriving at the ball ahead of all other Pittsburgh players, and then downing the ball.

"The video of the play shows Sanders running swiftly and effortlessly toward the punted ball, and then leaving the field with no sign of discomfort. Sanders also played the rest of the game without difficulty. Finally, there is no indication that Sanders has had prior cramping issues while in the NFL, and no Steelers' medical records or information of any kind were presented that would support a finding that he incurred a cramp that was both as serious and as transient as Sanders suggests."

VICTIM: Cincinnati Bengals

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: The NFL fined Sanders $15,000 and the Steelers organization another $35,000. Also: NO SUPER BOWLS SINCE CRAMPGATE!

SHARE:

AWARDS EARNED: Schoolyard Cheating!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 3.0

Injurygate (2017) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Pittsburgh Steelers

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: After their January 22, 2017 AFC Championship Game loss to the New England Patriots, it was revealed that the Steelers failed to report star running back LeVeon Bell's pre-existing groin injury.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk noted: "The injury report policy specifically requires the disclosure of only “significant or noteworthy injuries” on the Practice Report. So the argument from the Steelers would be that, because Bell’s injury was not “significant,” it didn’t need to be disclosed.

Florio continued:

Here’s the problem with that argument. Bell had been missing practice time. Each of the three Wednesdays before the team’s playoff games, Bell didn’t practice. Last Thursday, he missed practice for “personal reasons.”

The circumstances put the league office in a tough spot. If Bell missed no practice time, the folks at 345 Park Avenue could say, “The injury wasn’t significant, and Bell participated in all practices and games.” Since Bell missed four of nine practices over a three-week period with the “not injury related” designation at a time when Bell had a groin injury, the league will have a hard time burying its head in the sand on this one.

The available evidence suggests that the “management” of Bell’s injury included giving him days off that deliberately were characterized as “not injury related” in order to conceal the injury. Without exploring the situation in further detail, there’s no way to know the truth.

It was reported on Friday January 27, 2016 that the NFL would investigate whether or not the Steelers properly listed Bell’s injury.

VICTIM: New England Patriots

PUNISHED? PENDING...

PUNISHMENT: Coach Tomlin is a cheater and a whiner. This cheat seems like something he'd have no qualms executing.

SHARE:

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 2.0

Tarpgate (1976) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Pittsburgh Steelers

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: In 1976, the Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the Oakland Raiders in bitter cold conditions with the AFC title on the line. The night before the game, the tarp protecting the field apparently ripped, causing nasty conditions on the field. The Raiders alleged that the Steelers head groundskeeper -- Steve "Dirt" Dinardo -- intentionally worsened the field conditions by hosing down the turf in strategic areas.

"There was a suggestion that maybe the Steelers had iced the field," football historian Joe Horrigna told the NFL Network. Raiders owner Al Davis complained that the ice had been strategically placed on the edges of the field, which would hinder Oakland's deep passing game.

VICTIM: Oakland Raiders

PUNISHED? No but ... it's more probable than not that this was cheating

PUNISHMENT: A groundskeeper who's nickname is "Dirt" is always on top of his field conditions. If there was ice on the edges of the field, it was only because Dirt allowed the ice to be there.

SHARE:

AWARDS EARNED: Points for Creativity!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 1.0

Tampergate (1994: Capers) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Pittsburgh Steelers

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: According to Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer:

"Carolina’s original choice to become its first head coach was Joe Gibbs. When Gibbs turned the job down, the Panthers eventually focused on Capers – the inventive, blitz-happy defensive coordinator of the Steelers. The Panthers worried Capers would be hired away by a college in need of a coach, because colleges weren't bound by the same “wait until the season is over” restrictions as NFL teams.

So, despite the anti-tampering rules, Carolina’s leadership (owner Jerry Richardson, president Mike McCormack and general manager Bill Polian) contacted the Steelers, secured permission to interview Capers and secretly did so before the playoffs began.

Then-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue summoned the Panthers to New York and eventually fined them $150,000 and took away a second- and a sixth-round draft pick in the 1995 draft.

At the time, it was the first punishment the NFL had ever handed out that included the loss of multiple draft picks. Pittsburgh was fined $50,000, too, for allowing the interview (so the Steelers lost money and lost Capers, too)."

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: The Steelers were fined $50,000 for illegally allowing their coach to take the interview with Carolina. As Fowler put it, "the Steelers lost money and lost Capers, too.

SHARE:

AWARDS EARNED: Goalie for the Dart Team!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 1.0

Spygate (1992-2006) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Pittsburgh Steelers

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher admitted that his Steelers teams stole opponents' defensive signals. In an interview with a local radio station he said: "The only thing they [The Patriots] got caught (was) doing it with a camera. We had people that always tried to steal signals. Stealing someone's signals was a part of the game, and everyone attempted to do that."

Cowher continued:"Part of the things we had (were) wristbands that we were using to do it." Cowher said signal stealing "isn't even an element anymore because of the communications that take place on the field to the quarterback, to the linebacker. So it's an element of the game that doesn't exist."

When asked if the Patriots' alleged signal steeling had any impact on the the Steelers' 41-27 defeat in the 2004 AFC Championship loss, Cowher explained: "what happened when we lost that game is they outplayed us, and it had nothing to do with stealing signals or cheating or anything else. They were a better football team on that day."

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No

PUNISHMENT: Viewing your opponents signals has never been illegal. Filming them from the sidelines, however, has been prohibited since 2006.

SHARE:

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 0.0

Deflategate (2016) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Pittsburgh Steelers

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: During the December 4, 2016 regular season game between the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Giants cornerback Eli Apple recovered two Steelers' turnovers and noticed that the Steelers seemed to be playing with deflated footballs. Upon testing by the Giants' on their sideline (an act which is expressly against the rules), both footballs were found to be below the magical and sacrosanct lower limit of 12.5 PSI. According to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk, one ball measured 11.4 PSI and the other 11.8 PSI.

Unlike their posturing two years ago, the league quickly came out with this statement which passively admitted that cold temperatures will lower the air pressure in footballs: "The officiating game ball procedures were followed and there were no chain of command issues. All footballs were in compliance and no formal complaint was filed by the Giants with our office."

Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post had this to say about the league's hypocrisy:

"Just listen to those crickets. A conspicuous hush is emanating from the NFL office on the subject of those soft footballs the New York Giants retrieved from the field against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. Where was the outrage, the treating of ball-inflation and pounds-per-square-inch as more serious than a hijacking? Compare the screams of scandal NFL executives emitted toward Tom Brady and the New England Patriots to this smothered, pillow-over-the-face reaction."

"It’s a guilty silence, and it leaves NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell beached and exposed. Goodell has always struggled with the demands of speech, but his wordlessness in this instance has nothing to do with competence but rather dishonesty. Any serious examination of those footballs from the Giants-Steelers game might well show that Goodell owes the Patriots and Brady an apology and material recompense. Which is exactly why the league is shutting the matter down and shutting it down now."

PV=nRT. Nothing to see here. Cold weather causes air pressure to drop in footballs, just as it does in your car tires.

VICTIM: New York Giants

PUNISHED? No

PUNISHMENT: This was a carbon-copy situation as the infamous 2014-2016 Deflategate, yet Goodell hired no independent investigator, imposed no fine, docked no draft picks, and handed down no suspensions. I guess the commissioner and his bumbling band of league-office deputies reread their high school science notes and finally understand how the Ideal Gas Law works.

Fortunately for the Steelers, science can explain this pressure drop and there was no cheating required. Ironically, however, the Giants (just like the Colts two years earlier) did explicitly violate league rules by tampering with a game football on the sidelines.

SHARE:

AWARDS EARNED: Avoid Media Scrutiny!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 0.0

 

Leaguewide Cheats:

Tampergate (ongoing) flagsto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: Tampering with free agents is rampant, it's laughable and it is against the rules (PDF). It's so bad across every team in the league that the NFL had to create a three-day legal tampering period. However, tampering still regularly occurs long before that annual three-day window opens. On March 9, 2015 the league once again felt compelled to warn all 32 teams about not tampering.

Why is tampering considered a problem? Because tampering with players still under contract makes it difficult for clubs to re-sign their own talent. It also puts those few teams that actually follow NFL guidelines at a distinct disadvantage. In many cases, contract agreements are in place days before any negotiations are allowed to begin.

This isn't fair, it isn't legal, and it is blatant cheating by the teams who engage in the practice.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No but...

PUNISHMENT: NFL commissioner and former Jets public relations intern Roger Goodell is doing all he can to curtail and punish the "commonplace" practice, although it admits that there is so much tampering that it is hard to police it all.

The CheatPoints earned for this leaguewide cheat is for all of this team's tampering incidents that have gone undiscovered or unproven. If specific instances are discovered, they are punished on top of this leaguewide penalty.

SHARE:

AWARDS EARNED:Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 4.0

Headsetgate (ongoing) flagsto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: it's a common complaint around the NFL. In late, close games, the helmet communicators of visiting teams suddenly "malfunction" and stop working. It has been accepted as standard practice in the league. Are you on the road and the game is close? Then you are going to have problems with your headset.

In recent years, the Patriots have accused the Colts of doing it and the Jaguars have made the same charge of the Patriots. The Redskins accused the Buccaneers of disabling their headsets, and Tampa Bay accused Dallas. The Giants openly bragged about doing it way back in 1956. The charges go on and on and on.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No

SHARE:

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 4.0

Spygate (until 2006) flagsto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: Stealing your opponent's signals has always been common and never been illegal.

Said former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher, "We had people that always tried to steal signals. Stealing someone's signals was a part of the game, and everyone attempted to do that." Admitted former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson: "When I came into the NFL, back in 1989, I talked to a Kansas City scout and he said, 'Here's what we do, we videotape the opposing team's signals and then we sync it up with the game film.' So I did it." Bragged, former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan: "Our guy keeps a pair of binoculars on their signal-callers every game, with any luck, we have their defensive signals figured out by halftime. Sometimes, by the end of the first quarter."

NFL commissioner and former Jets public relations intern Rodger Goodell confirmed this himself in 2008, saying that the issue was not stealing signals, that is allowed "and it is done quite widely." The issue is where and how you record them. If you chose to videotape them, then (after 2006) you have to do that from a league approved location. If you hire lip readers, they can do it from your coaches lap, if you want.

After 2006, examples of allowed videotaping locations are: the luxury boxes, media booths and other enclosed spaces. Expressly prohibited locations are the sidelines, the field, locker rooms, the coaches booth or any other place accessible to team coaches and staff. The point of the rule is to not allow the footage to be useful in the current game.

Prior to the September 6, 2006 memo and, 2007 follow up, from NFL head of football operations Ray Anderson, there was no league restriction on filming location, which is the reason the memo was sent.

Many NFL head coaches have downplayed the significance of the practice, saying that attempting to decipher opponent's signals was a long standing practice and entirely common throughout the league.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No

PUNISHMENT: NFL commissioner and former Jets public relations intern Rodger Goodell suggested that the responsibility was on teams to conceal their messages, not on the ones trying to steal them. During his news conference before the 2007 Super Bowl he said that any coach who did not expect signals to be stolen was "stupid."

Prior to 2006, every NFL team is assumed to have done it, but none of them broke a rule. You can't punish something that is not prohibited. Filming from the sidelines was not prohibited until 2006 and filming your opponent's signals from approved locations has never been prohibited, even today.

SHARE:

AWARDS EARNED:Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 0.0

Scrapsgate (ongoing) flagsto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: Sign an opponent's recently-cut player to your practice squad to get intel on their plays, signals and tactics. This is not illegal and is a leaguewide practice.

Said one player, who chose to remain anonymous as he was still in the league as of 2015, "If teams have an opening at a certain position, they might not be looking for perhaps the best player to fill it on their practice squad. Instead, they might go for someone who has access to the opposing team’s playbook."

“Let’s say we’re playing the Jaguars in seven days and you want to know more about their playbook. From time to time teams will sign people off of practice squads. You don’t have to put them on active roster so if there’s a need for more depth at linebacker and you’re playing Jacksonville, there would be more of a chance to sign a linebacker off the team you’re about to play’s practice squad and hoping that the person you’re about to sign will divulge information about the playbook.”

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No

PUNISHMENT: Not illegal.

SHARE:

AWARDS EARNED:Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 0.0

awardEARNED: "A Decade of Deceit!"

CRITERIA: Repeat the same cheat at least ten years later!
EARNED FOR:Steroidgate (1970-2007) 

awardEARNED: "Avoid Media Scrutiny!"

CRITERIA: Successfully attract less than 5% of the typical Patriots "cheating" scandal coverage!
EARNED FOR:Deflategate (2016) 

awardEARNED: "Champs of the Cheat!"

CRITERIA: Show, through consistency or creative flourish, that your team is the best at a particular type of cheat!
EARNED FOR:Steroidgate (1970-2007) 

awardEARNED: "Cojones Ferreas!"

CRITERIA: Construct a cheat of the boldest variety, demonstrating your complete disregard for the rules and consequences for smashing them with your beefy man-parts!
EARNED FOR:Impedegate (2013) 

awardEARNED: "Everyone Was Doing It!"

CRITERIA: Successfully "cheat" in a way that many other teams have (bonus points for not getting caught)!
EARNED FOR:Spygate (until 2006)  Tampergate (ongoing)  PEDSgate (3x since 1991)  Steroidgate (1970-2007)  Scrapsgate (ongoing) 

awardEARNED: "Goalie for the Dart Team!"

CRITERIA: Execute a cheat that requires significant anti-intellect to attempt, let alone thinking you'll get away with it!
EARNED FOR:Tampergate (1994: Capers)  Impedegate (2013) 

awardEARNED: "Points for Creativity!"

CRITERIA: Find a way to cheat that others didn't think of!
EARNED FOR:Steroidgate (1970-2007)  Tarpgate (1976) 

awardEARNED: "Schoolyard Cheating!"

CRITERIA: Complete a cheat in the NFL that you could just as likely see on a schoolyard playground!
EARNED FOR:Impedegate (2013)  Crampgate (2012) 

awardEARNED: "Spawn the Spoof!"

CRITERIA: Successfully create and execute a cheat that nobody else has thought of!
EARNED FOR:Shouldergate (1978) 

Is there a Pittsburgh Steelers cheating scandal that I'm missing? Do I have a fact wrong? A broken link? Email me with your comment and supporting link and I'll fix or add it.

Want to share this page with a troll? Here's the link: http://YourTeamCheats.com/PIT