Lessons learnt from the top sports crises of 2025
2025 was another year where the headlines didn’t always celebrate brilliance on the pitch, track or court, but exposed much of the chaos around it.
Governance sagas that should never have been allowed to fester; integrity questions that grew louder with every evasive quote. Doping stories that left organisations scrambling for cover.
As ever, it’s impossible to avoid the sense that too many leaders still treat reputation as something you protect after the fact, rather than something you build – and safeguard – every day.
If 2025 has underlined anything, it’s this – crisis communications isn’t a dusty folder on a shared drive. It’s a core capability. The difference between acting with control and acting in a blind panic.
The difference between getting your facts straight and getting your story wrong.
We say every year that strong governance, clear values, transparency and an embedded code of ethics don’t just look good on a slide. They reduce risk. They create consistency. They buy you time and credibility when something goes wrong.
Too often, though, sport still reaches for the oldest playbook in the book – deny, deflect, lawyer up, hope it blows over. That instinct might feel protective in the short term, but it nearly always comes with a bigger bill later.
This year 2025 didn’t invent these problems. It simply exposed, again, who was prepared, who wasn’t, and who still hasn’t learned that the damage usually isn’t the issue itself. It’s the response.
MO SALAH
Mo Salah was one of the main reasons why Liverpool won the Premier League in 2024-25, securing the Golden Boot as top scorer with 29 goals and 18 assists. He was also recognised with both Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year and Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year awards.
After much speculation and an interview where he lamented a lack of progress on an agreement, he also signed a new deal with the club.
Salah does not speak to the media much, but when he walked through the mixed zone after a disappointing 3-3 draw with Leeds United, where media are trying to grab a word as players walk past, he stopped to give what has turned out to be a bombshell interview.
Liverpool have struggled this season, offering little to no defence of their domestic title, with Salah struggling to match last season’s form. He had been dropped to the substitutes’ bench for three league games, and after the latest setback at Leeds, he felt the need to speak.
He said: “I can’t believe … I’m sitting on the bench for 90 minutes. The third time on the bench, I think for the first time in my career. I’m very, very disappointed. I have done so much for this club down the years and especially last season. Now I’m sitting on the bench and I don’t know why.
“It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That is how I am feeling. I think it is very clear that someone wanted me to get all of the blame.”
“I said many times before that I had a good relationship with the manager and all of a sudden, we don’t have any relationship. I don’t know why, but it seems to me, how I see it, that someone doesn’t want me in the club.
“The respect, I want to get. I don’t have to go every day fighting for my position because I earned it. I am not bigger than anyone but I earned my position. It’s football. It is what it is. I am top goalscorer, best player, winning the league in such a style, but I am the one who has to defend himself in front of the media and fans.
“After what I have done for the club it really hurts. You can imagine, really. After going from home to the club and you don’t know if you are starting. I know the club too well, I have been here many years.”
Star players often get frustrated when they are not a first choice, and Salah follows countless others who have struggled when their status in a team wanes. Whether his performances are part of why Liverpool have struggled this season or the team’s struggles have meant his impact has weakened is a moot point.
Jamie Carragher, who has often criticised Salah in the past and was namechecked in Salh’s interview, told Sky Sports that the Egyptian had let the club down.
He said: "I thought it was a disgrace. Some have painted it as an emotional outburst. I don't think it was.
"When Mo Salah stops in the mixed zone - which he has done four times in eight years - it is choreographed with him and his agent to cause maximum damage and strengthen his own position.
"He has waited, I think, for a bad result with Liverpool. Everyone connected with the club feels like they are in the gutter and he has chosen this time to go for the manager - and maybe try and get him sacked.”
The third-highest goalscorer in the club’s history, Salah was left out of the squad who travelled to Italy for Liverpool’s Champions League clash with Inter Milan and few could blame manager Arne Slot for taking that decision.
On the eve of the game, Slot, who has been under pressure given the difficult season Liverpool have experienced, tried to play down the issues but gave no guarantee that Salah would play for the club again.
He stated: “I have no clue. Usually I’m calm, I’m polite. But that doesn’t mean I’m weak so if a player has these comments about so many things then it’s up to me and the club to react. We reacted in a way you can see – he’s not here.
“it was a surprise to me when I heard the comments he gave. But it is not the first or last time a player who doesn’t play says something similar to what he did.”
Salah posted an image on social media of himself alone in the gym at Liverpool's training complex.
There is rumoured to be strong interest from the Saudi Pro League and Major League Soccer clubs if Salah does seek a move after representing Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations in January and few would be surprised if his time on Merseyside is nearing a conclusion.
Learnings
There is no “I” in team and the fact Salah usually speaks only when he wants to complain is a sign of a player for whom ego is a central tenet.
Players are judged on their present and future capabilities, not what they have done in the past, and Salah’s comments suggest he thinks he deserves a starting spot based on past glories.
With Liverpool struggling, the forward who does the least defensive work is an understandable player to drop, and if Salah was trying to increase the pressure on Slot, it seems to have backfired.
The nature of mixed zones mean that if a player has something to say, even if it’s as pre-meditated as Salah’s outburst appeared to be, there is little the club can do about it in the immediate aftermath.
Some pundits have suggested that Salah’s comments have tarnished his legacy and that may well prove to be the case.
What is vital now is for the club to have a united voice externally while dealing with the ramifications of Salah’s actions internally to ensure the drama doesn’t endure any longer than it has to.
THE WNBA PAY DISPUTE
While the USA Men’s basketball team has had an unfair advantage when it comes to the Olympic Games, the women’s team had more modest origins.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) backed a women’s league (WNBA) which started in 1997 with eight teams in established basketball cities. The NBA still owns 60% of the WNBA.
As recently as last 2024, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver underlined the importance of collaboration and integration between the two leagues.
Seeing off challenger the American Basketball League (ABL), it expanded to 12 teams and then 16, with players signing a collective bargaining agreement and growing to the point where the 2024 season enjoyed record viewing figures of 54 million, sellout arenas and fan voting for the All-Star Game rocketing by 538% compared to the previous year.
There have been conflicting reports about the health of the WNBA and its teams, with some reports suggesting that losses will amount to $40 in 2024 while the increase in value of a team such as The New York Liberty, who were sold in 2019 for $10m-$14m and are now valued at around $450m, suggests that finances are healthier than they have been portrayed.
As the LA Times suggested last year: “Women’s basketball has never seen anything like Caitlin Clark, the sweet-shooting rookie guard for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever. She’s Taylor Swift with a jump shot, Mia Hamm in a singlet; a figure so transcendent she is changing her profession.”
It speaks volumes that more than 3 million people tuned in to ESPN just to watch her get drafted and she signed the most lucrative sponsorship deal in women’s basketball history, a $28-million agreement that includes a signature shoe.
Not everyone is so lucky. WNBA star Angel Reese claimed she could not afford her $96,000 annual rent on her $72,000 salary, with her sponsorships and earnings from other competitions needed to support her outgoings.
A new $2.2 billion media deal seemed on the surface to signal all the progress being made, raising their annual rights income from $60 million to $200 million.
But WNBA players’ union executive director Terri Jackson suggested that the deal undervalued the WNBA, especially with the NBA media rights reportedly worth a total of $76 billion with Disney, NBC and Amazon Prime Video.
She said: “We have wondered for months how the NBA would value the WNBA in its media rights deal. With a reportedly $75 billion deal on the table, the league is in control of its own destiny. More precisely, the NBA controls the destiny of the WNBA.
“We look forward to learning how the NBA arrived at a $200 million valuation – if initial reports are accurate or even close. Neither the NBA nor the WNBA can deny that in the last few years, we have seen unprecedented growth across all metrics, the players continue to demonstrate their commitment to building the brand, and that the fans keep showing up. There is no excuse to undervalue the WNBA again.”
Salaries have always been an issue in the WNBA.
The top base salary in 2024 was $242,000 with Clark earning just over $75,500 in her first year as a pro.
When the WNBPA, the players’ union, was presented with a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) at the start of July, it was rejected out of hand.
According to MarketWatch, players receive only 9.3% of league revenue, including TV deals, tickets and merchandise sales, compared to 50% for men in the NBA.
There are suggestions that comparing the pay structure between the men’s and women’s leagues isn’t reasonable, given that the NBA has a six-month regular season and brings in billions of dollars in corporate sponsorships, while the WNBA is in its 29th season and plays four months of the year with significantly lower revenue.
One major sticking point in negotiations related to the league wanting a fixed percentage payment while players want “a better share where our salaries grow with the business, and not just a fixed percentage over time,” according to Nneka Ogwumike, president of the WNBPA and Seattle Storm forward.
“It’s been made clear that there’s this perception that the players don’t understand the business,” Ogwumike said.
To her credit, ENBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said she wants the same things players want: a "transformational deal," but her messaging hasn’t always matched the players’ urgency.
“I’m still really optimistic that we’ll get something done that will be transformational and next year at All-Star we’ll be talking about how great everything is,” she said ahead of the All-Star game in mid-July.
But at that All-Star game, players warmed up in shirts reading: “Pay us what you owe us,” as chants of “Pay them!" echoed from fans throughout the Gainbridge Fieldhouse arena.
Harvard economics professor and 2023 Nobel Prize winner Claudia Goldin has been advising the WNBPA in collective bargaining and recently wrote an essay in the New York Times entitled “How Underpaid Are WNBA Players? It’s Embarrassing.”
In light of the huge pay disparity, she said: “The most likely explanation is that the WNBA is not receiving the full value it contributes to the combined NBA and WNBA enterprise revenue.”
As things stand, no agreement has been reached, with the CBA deadline continually extended.
There are reports that the salary cap could be raised to $1.1 million but the longer this goes on, the longer this appears as the lasting legacy of Engelbert’s reign.
Learnings
In a world where women’s sport is growing at a rapid rate, the NBA’s reluctance to make an initial financial offer that reflects the interest in the WNBA is a considerable mis-step.
Caitlin Clark has driven television and attendances audiences since joining Indiana Fever, generating additional consumer spending around the sport of almost $100m.
One of the most talked-about female athletes on the planet, Clark is just one of the many icons of women’s basketball in the United States, now facing the reality that as a female, her achievements are treated as if they don’t matter as much as the men’s.
The optics for the NBA, in light of their own revenues, are not great and ignore the value of women’s sports fans as well as the growth of the game for young athletes who could now consider overseas competitions as a better way to make their living in such a short career.
TURKISH REFEREES
Jose Mourinho has never been one to shy from the limelight. His persona exploded when he joined Chelsea and proclaimed himself “The Special One” in 2004.
His career has taken him to Portugal, Italy, Spain and England before a spell in Turkey where, as coach of Fenerbahce, he criticised referees and the standard of competition in the Super Lig.
The Portuguese coach said he was alarmed by what he called "a system" in the domestic league that is deeply ingrained.
"In terms of the feeling of something that is toxic, we feel [it], obviously, we feel," Mourinho added. "After 25 years as a coach and 35 in football, 10 as an assistant, I've never seen anything like this.
"Everybody was saying the same thing, scandal, scandal. To win at any cost and to win in this way is the worst thing."
That may have been considered to be deflection by the Portuguese, but it wasn’t the first refereeing controversy in the league.
In another incident, Istanbulspor's president withdrew his team from the pitch in protest at a refereeing decision in their match against Trabzonspor.
Mourinho was vindicated when Turkey's football federation launched disciplinary proceedings after hundreds of professional match officials were found to have betting accounts.
A five-year investigation found that that 371 of 571 match officials have accounts, with 152 of those actively gambling.
Turkish football federation (TFF) Ibrahim Ethem Haciosmanoglu said: "If we want to bring Turkish football to the place it deserves, we have to clean up whatever dirt there is.
"The reputation of Turkish soccer is built on the sanctity of the effort on the field and the unwavering integrity of justice. Any act that betrays these values is not merely a violation of the rules, but a breach of trust."
It later transpired that more than a thousand players were also involved in the scandal including those from 14 of the top flight’s 18 teams.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has been looking into allegations of potential match-fixing since April this year and Reuters have reported that detention orders for 21 people, including 17 referees and a club chairman have been issued.
Learnings
When the public starts believing the result is negotiable, the whole ecosystem starts leaking value: broadcasters get jittery, sponsors ask for morality clauses, clubs demand protective measures, and every refereeing decision gets litigated online as evidence of corruption.
The comms problem is predictable too. If you go quiet, you’re accused of covering up. If you over-reassure, you look naive or complicit when the next arrest drops. The only viable route is disciplined transparency: what we know, what we don’t, what we’re doing, by when. And crucially – independence. Any perception that football is “investigating itself” is rocket fuel for conspiracy.
The governance lesson is equally blunt. Betting relationships, education and monitoring need to be relentless – and backed by enforcement that is swift enough to deter.
Time will tell if the players, officials – and indeed the media – complicit in one of the biggest scandals football has ever faced are suitably punished, and whether Turkish football can recover.
LA VUELTA
The debate about sport and politics becoming intertwined has gone on for decades.
Along with the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, La Vuelta a Espana is one of the three men’s cycling Grand Tour events, and found itself mired in controversy after pro-Palestinian protests prematurely ended the race this autumn.
This summer, it became clear that communication between various stakeholders for the Spanish event was not co-ordinated, the disagreements and varying agenda contributing to the chaos that transpired.
There had been concerns about the inclusion of Israel-Premier Tech, given the tragic crisis in the Middle East, which has seen the Israeli military launching a campaign in Gaza which a United Nations Commission has deemed as genocide.
The actions in Gaza are Israel’s response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
Tensions rose between Spain and Israel with the Spanish Government approving a package of measures against Israel including banning two far-right Israeli ministers from entering Spain and imposing an arms embargo.
Spain also formally recognised the State of Palestine in 2024 and has regularly strongly condemned Israeli actions against Palestine.
The Israel-Premier Tech team includes riders from around the world, only one of which is Israeli, but after protests at both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France this year, it was inevitable that La Vuelta would experience challenges of its own.
With early stages taking place in Italy, the protests began in earnest during Stage Five, with police having to clear the road just outside Figueres as the Israeli team was targeted.
The team issued a statement that said: “Israel–Premier Tech respects the right of every individual to freedom of expression, including the right to demonstrate peacefully. But we strongly condemn the dangerous acts of protest…which not only endangered the safety of our riders and race staff but also the demonstrators themselves. We will continue to work with race organizers and authorities to ensure the safety of riders and staff in the Vuelta and all other races we participate in.”
As the protests continued, team owner Sylvan Adams, revealed that he had rejected a request from race organisers ASO to withdraw his team from the race or change its name.
The Canadian-Israeli billionaire said: “There is no end to the boycotts. They asked us to quit the Vuelta, but we did not surrender to the terrorists. I told them that they were wrong and that we had the right to stay.
“If we give up, it’s not just the end of our team, but of all the other teams. Tomorrow they will demonstrate against the teams from Bahrain, the UAE, and Astana (Kazakhstan).”
Calling all protestors “terrorists” was ill-advised by Adams, connecting Hamas, the Palestinian political and military entity with all those who called for an end to hostilities and the desperate situation facing the region’s inhabitants, particularly those reported to be starving in Gaza City.
Adams has previously said that the team is a form of “sports diplomacy….a worldwide advertising board to win hearts and minds to the Israeli cause.”
He had also said that “This is not a state project…This isn’t a propaganda exercise. We are ambassadors of the country. Our brand is Israel. I do not believe in the ‘washing concept. One of the things I like about the bike team is that we can compete in the spirit of good sportsmanship, and that’s the power of sport. These guys ride for Israel, so they need to know the country.”
There’s a lot of mixed messaging in what Adams says, underlining why protestors may have targeted the riders even if their outrage was heavy-handed and ultimately gained as much criticism as support.
Despite Adams’ earlier denials, the Israeli team eventually removed their name from their kit before the fourteenth stage of the race amid a continuation of the protests and pressure from race officials and the Spanish authorities.
Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, called on the race organisers to expel the Israeli team, further inflaming the issue. “We have to send a message to Israel and the Israeli society that Europe and Israel can only have normal relations when human rights are respected,” Albares said.
La Vuelta then had to be suspended in Bilbao, eight kilometres from the finish line, when angry mobs pushed against barriers and forced organisers to finish prematurely.
The protests also had an impact in Galicia and on more than one stage in Asturias, where incidents caused Javi Romo (Movistar) to crash and abandon the race due to his injuries.
Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, who has supported Israel’s exclusion from major cultural events, had appeared to encourage the protests midway through the event when he commented: “Our respect and recognition for the athletes and our admiration for the Spanish people who are mobilising for just causes like Palestine."
Israel's foreign minister Gideon Saar called Sanchez and his government a "disgrace" but ultimately, the final stage of the grand tour and winners’ podium were suspended amid chaotic scenes as groups of pro-Palestine protesters swamped the finish line area and presentation podium in central Madrid.
Thousands of demonstrators tore down barriers and occupied the course, missiles were thrown, the police charged, and the atmosphere became increasingly threatening with chants calling for 'Cycling without Zionism' as tensions escalated.
Javier Guillén, director of La Vuelta, tried to downplay the premature ending of the race and said: “This is the hardest Vuelta I have ever experienced. La Vuelta is a global event, and that is one of the reasons why we have seen what we saw. It's fine for people to take advantage of the Vuelta to make their statement, but we also demand respect for the race.”
Learnings
A global event such as La Vuelta has so many different stakeholders, from the governing body and organisers to teams and riders and regional and national politicians.
Rather than any sense of joined-up strategy and communications, factions seemed to pit themselves against each other, causing distractions and ultimately emboldening protestors to go beyond peaceful actions to the violence that erupted in Madrid.
La Vuelta has been catastrophic with increased policing cost, lost television audiences, disenchanted sponsors and stage-winning riders being denied their moment of podium glory.
The failure to end the race has plunged World Tour racing into crisis, particularly with the Tour de France Grand Depart taking place in Barcelona in July next year.
Premier Tech withdrew their sponsorship but the big question for organisers and cycling’s governance is a challenging one: how can the different stakeholders come together to prevent showcase events being ruined if these protests continue to go ahead?
THE FIA
Has F1 recovered from the scandal which saw Lewis Hamilton robbed of the Driver’s Championship in 2021?
The sport is growing, with a film starring Brad Pitt and races in the United States that have accelerated the sport’s already global profile, but doubts over governance remain, with concerns growing over the organisation’s president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
In the spring, the FIA’s deputy president for sport, Robert Reid, announced his resignation citing what he called “a fundamental breakdown in governance standards” and “critical decisions being made without due process.
“Motorsport deserves leadership that is accountable, transparent and member-driven. I can no longer, in good faith, remain part of a system that does not reflect those values.”
MotorsportUK chairman David Richards also said that there has been "a shift of the moral compass" of the FIA’s President and in an open letter he accused the FIA of "disregarding" his concerns about "levels of transparency, accountability and integrity" in the organisation.
The row came in the wake of Richards being barred from attending a meeting of the FIA world council because he refused to sign a confidentiality agreement demanded of members.
Drivers have been hit with fines for swearing or wearing jewellery and prevented from speaking about issues that they feel passionately about as well as putting forward a system where ethics complaints would be handled internally.
Ben Sulayem has also been accused of interfering in races, which were dismissed by the FIA’s own investigation, with the leading officer in charge of the review then sacked.
Mercedes driver George Russell said that across the paddock there was concern over governance. He commented: “Every time we hear some news from that side of the sport, it's not really a big surprise. So it's clearly a real shame to see, and somebody who's very well respected within the sport and been there for so long, as we keep saying, it's like, what's next?”
The presidential elections this year ensure that no one other than the incumbent can run.
American Tim Mayer withdrew from the race when it became clear that the election rules would not allow him to compete fairly.
Mayer lamented: “There will only be one candidate, the incumbent. That's not democracy. That's the illusion of democracy. Throughout our FIA Forward campaign, we've spoken of fairness, reform, and integrity, of returning the FIA to its members.
“But today, the outcome of this election, and the flawed process that governs it, proves how far we've drifted from that ideal.
“When elections are decided before ballots are even passed, that's not democracy. That's theatre. And when member clubs are left with no real choice, they become spectators, not participants.”
Swiss racing driver Laura Villars then launched legal action against the FIA to challenge its election process.
Villars had expressed an intention to stand in the election before learning that no other candidate can run.
She said: "This step is neither hostile nor political – it is a responsible and constructive initiative to safeguard transparency, ethics and pluralism within global motorsport governance.
"As I have stated publicly, I am not acting against the FIA. I am acting to protect it. Democracy is not a threat to the FIA; it is its strength."
The FIA has responded to Mayer’s claims, stating: “The FIA presidential election is a structured and democratic process, to ensure fairness and integrity at every stage.
“The requirements related to the regional representation of the vice presidents for sport, and to select them from the World Motor Sport Council in order to draw up a presidential list, are not new. These criteria applied to previous elections.
“As to be expected, preparing a candidature for a presidential list or the world councils requires certain steps to be taken. Prospective candidates have had since the publication of the detailed information on 13 June to prepare their applications.”
Learnings
The FIA is supposed to be the credibility engine for motorsport, drawing boundaries and setting standards.
When senior figures resign publicly and frame it as governance failure, stakeholders start asking uncomfortable questions: are decisions being made through proper process? Are checks and balances functioning? Can teams, drivers and fans trust the regulator?
This kind of crisis feeds on institutional tone. When the organisation responds defensively, it validates the critique and attracts wider scrutiny around the FIA’s governance.
The lesson for governance is the importance of consistent, transparent process that never raises questions about integrity or the agenda of leadership.
You cannot survive long when insiders publicly claim the process itself is broken.
ERRIYN KNIGHTON
The credibility of athletics is always linked to anti-doping outcomes, and in 2025 one of the sport’s most high-profile young sprinters became a global headline.
The 21-year-old Erriyon Knighton tested positive for trenbolone – a banned substance used for muscle growth – in March 2024.
He avoided a ban following an independent arbitrator's ruling and was cleared to compete at the 2024 Olympics, but is now banned with immediate effect.
Knighton is the sixth-fastest man in track history over 200 meters, with a best time of 19.49 seconds. Only Noah Lyles and Michael Johnson are ahead of him among American sprinters.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) prosecuted Knighton's original case and accepted the "no-fault" ruling based on the explanation that he was contaminated by oxtail from a bakery in central Florida.
World Athletics and WADA appealed against that decision earlier this year with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling in their favour which, in turn, now sees Knighton suspended for the maximum four years both appellants were seeking.
“The very public battle between WADA and USADA, which caught the attention of the IOC, rightly leads to the question of whether U.S. athletes like Knighton are collateral damage in a series of coordinated efforts against USADA’s attacks,” said Knighton’s attorney, Howard Jacobs. “Erriyon will vigorously defend himself against this baseless appeal.”
Knighton’s case became public as tension between USADA and WADA increased over the way WADA and China handled the case involving 23 Chinese swimmers, who were cleared to keep competing despite testing positive for a banned heart medication. China won 12 swimming medals at the Paris Games, many of which involved swimmers from that case who were not sanctioned.
CAS published a decision stating it upheld appeals by World Athletics and WADA and imposed the four-year ban on Knighton and stated: “"After considering the scientific evidence, the CAS panel determined that there is no proof that would support the conclusion that oxtail imported into the USA would be likely to contain trenbolone residues at the level required to have caused the [positive test]."
Knighton’s agents, Astra Partners, issued their own statement criticising the guilty verdict. They said: “The recent conclusion of the guilty verdict by The Court of Arbitration, (CAS), regarding Erriyon Knighton IS a travesty. To be found to have no fault by an independent arbitrator in the original case against United States Anti-doping Agency, (USADA), back in 2024 and then to have The World Anti-Doping Agency, (WADA) and the Athletes Integrity Unit, (AIU), refile in an appeal is very concerning in this case.
“This case was based on probability. USADA independently sourced and tested oxtail from the same restaurant where Erriyon ate, and the testing proved that the meat that was purchased there had traces of trenbolone!! This should have been an open and shut case – to pretend that it is a coincidence is a farce.
“There is no question that this appeal was motivated by WADA’s animus against USADA and the United States. We stand with our client Erriyon Knighton and believe he did not deliberately dope, but he is an athlete who has been found guilty of choosing the wrong restaurant to eat food. This case is not over.”
China Anti-Doping (CHINADA) then accused USADA of double standards intent on protecting its own athletes while seeking harsh punishments for others, including Chinese athletes
They stated: “It seems that the accusation and attacks on China and other countries is its tactic to deflect attention from the serious flaws in its own anti-doping work. This is sheer political manipulation and hypocritical double standards…(which)… shows that USADA's rhetoric about fairness and clean sport runs counter to its actual practices."
The ultimate guilty verdict for Knighton undermines athletics, especially with sprinting being so high profile, raising suspicions over other athletes and the competence of testing.
Learnings
The best anti-doping communication isn’t sensational – it is factual, consistent, and transparent: what rule was applied, what evidence was assessed, what standard of proof was used, and what appeal rights existed.
Needless to say, USADA needs to ensure that its own house is in order before criticising other nations and ensure that all testing results are watertight.
CAS publishing decisions is crucial here – it anchors the story in documentation, not vibes open to speculation.
The governance lesson is that credibility isn’t built only by catching cheats. It is built by the perceived fairness of the system. If athletes believe the process is arbitrary or inconsistent, compliance culture suffers. If fans believe the sport is dirty, commercial value suffers. Both outcomes hurt.
BOXING AND GENETICS
Boxing faced a huge crisis at Paris 2024 when Imane Khelif won Olympic gold despite doubts about her gender, with some still doubting her eligibility to have competed in women’s events.
Fast forward to this year and the same problems arose, with French female boxers banned from competing at the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool after failing to take a genetic test. The French Boxing Federation (FFBoxe) said the ruling was incompatible with French law.
“With, as a consequence, the exclusion of our athletes as well as other female boxers from foreign delegations who also found themselves trapped,” FFBoxe said in a statement. “This is a profound injustice. Our athletes are being punished for a bureaucratic failure and a policy that was communicated far too late.”
World Boxing hit back, explaining that it had made the tests mandatory to avoid more controversies such as that which occurred in Paris.
The statement read: “World Boxing has introduced mandatory sex testing, to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes that want to participate in its competitions as part of a new eligibility policy.
The then-President of World Boxing, Boris van der Vorst, said: “World Boxing respects the dignity of all individuals and is keen to ensure it is as inclusive as possible, yet in a combat sport like boxing, we have a duty of care to deliver safety and competitiveness fairness which are the key principles that have guided the development and creation of this policy.
“We recognise that the issues relating to eligibility in boxing are more pronounced in the women’s events which is why we have made the decision to implement the policy in the female category first.
“This was communicated to all of our member National Federations some time ago, to enable them to begin the process of testing. It is very disappointing for the boxers that some national federations have not been able to complete this process in time.”
Twelve fighters were barred from the Championships, with five French fighters joined by some from Nigeria, Fiji, the Dominican Republic and the Philippines.
Algerian boxer Khelif has also filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to challenge World Boxing's introduction of the genetic sex test.
World Boxing then admitted it would redouble its efforts to ensure the new tests are fully understood and explained.
Acting secretary general Mike McAtee struck a more conciliatory tone and said: “Anything medical takes time. I'm old enough to remember when we started doing HIV testing and hepatitis testing. There is a slight learning curve, but now nobody thinks about it twice.
"We need to see how we can perform better, not only on eligibility, but everything else. We're an old sport in a very young body.
"So how do we make ourselves better, and how can we support? We have members like GB Boxing, England, Scotland, Wales, that have funding and are able to do it.
"And then we have other national federations that just don't have the funding. So we need to be able to do better in support of our members."
Learnings
Boxing spent 2025 in an identity crisis – governance fragmentation, credibility fights, and then a combustible inclusion policy story.
This is the kind of crisis where everyone loses. Athletes lose competitive opportunity while the sport loses trust and the debate becomes polarised.
The issue touches sex, gender, law and fairness and so attracts political as well as sports media and for federations, the approach must balance athlete advocacy with constructive engagement.
Genetic testing invariably becomes part of a culture war – which usually harms the athletes most.
Credit to McAtee for accepting the nuances and challenges the new rules provoke, and vowing to get better rather than dismissing concerns out of hand. That’s a positive approach and one which suggests World Boxing will get it right sooner rather than later.
BEN PROUD & THE ENHANCED GAMES
We have written before about the Enhanced Games, backed by PayPal billionaire Peter Thiel, where athletes are permitted to use performance-enhancing drugs if they wish.
The premise is that doping should be seen as a demonstration of science rather that cheating.
“We are creating a new category of human excellence,” the Enhanced Games’ promotional materials declare. “A world where performance-enhancing drugs are used safely, openly, and under medical supervision.”
When the concept was first announced, Travis Tygart, CEO of the US Anti-Doping Agency, described the Enhanced Games as ”farcical… likely illegal in many states” and “a dangerous clown show, not real sport”
In a release, WADA further condemned the new Games, calling it “a dangerous and irresponsible concept.
“WADA warns athletes and support personnel, who wish to participate in clean sport, that if they were to take part in the 'Enhanced Games', they would risk committing anti-doping rule violations under the World Anti-Doping Code.
“As we have seen through history, performance-enhancing drugs have taken a terrible physical and mental toll on many athletes. Some have died.
“Clearly this event would jeopardize [athletes’ health and well-being] by promoting the abuse of powerful substances and methods that should only be prescribed, if at all, for specific therapeutic needs.”
Organisers confirmed that the first event would be held in spring of 2026 in Las Vegas, featuring sprinting, swimming and weightlifting, with prize money of up to $500,000 per event and a bonus of $1m for breaking world records.
They maintain that this is not about discrediting traditional sport, but as a parallel category to explore the boundaries of human potential while provoking a broader cultural conversation.
Team GB Olympian Ben Proud, who is a 50m freestyle world champion and got silver at Paris 2024, announced he had agreed to join the competition in the autumn, citing the need to earn for the sake of his future.
It would take 13 years of world titles to match what Proud can make in one year with the Enhanced Games and he explained: "I'm 30 years old and retirement has been a topic of contention for quite a few years. In reality, us athletes in the Olympic programme don't earn enough money to retire off the back of this and I am always seeking something that can see me through a bit longer.
“I think it opens up the potential avenue to excel in a very different way. I think realistically I've achieved everything I can, and now the Enhanced [Games] is giving me a new opportunity. I definitely don't think that's undermining a clean sport.
"I really respect the sport I've been part of, and I would never step back in knowing I've done something which isn't in the rules. I'm coming into this very new, I don't know any pros and cons about anything that could be available.
"All I know is that it's going to be a very interesting dynamic to learn about these things, things that have not been available to us for a long time.
"I'm very curious as to what could be done to feel better in certain aspects of the race or training. I have the next three, four months to figure out what it is. After that, ultimately, I have the decision to say I want to take it or not."
In a statement on social media, Aquatics GB said it is "immensely disappointed", while UK Sport said it was working with Aquatics GB "as a matter of urgency to determine Ben Proud's suitability to receive public funds".
UK Anti-Doping issued a statement and said: “It is incredibly disappointing that any British athlete would consider competing in an event that flies in the face of the true spirit of sport.
“Any decision by any athlete to compete in the Enhanced Games risks undermining the values of a sporting landscape that prizes hard work, integrity, pure talent and 100% clean sport.
“It’s a landscape UK Anti-Doping works hard to protect, so it is with deep concern for all clean athletes, and all those who love sport, that the event may go ahead, with any British athlete saying they will take part. It is an undertaking that diminishes, rather than ‘enhances’, all those involved.”
Learnings
Ben Proud has shattered his reputation by agreeing to join the Enhanced Games, but deserves some credit for not hiding in the shadows when interrogated about his motives.
He explained the attraction of the financial benefits and his quest to push the boundaries of human capacity and claims to have understood the concern and disappointment with his decision.
On this occasion, all the related governing bodies were consistent in their messaging, expressing disappointment and condemnation.
One could argue that this is a freak show with the ultra-wealthy willing to watch athletes risk their lives in controversial fashion.
It remains to be seen whether curiosity from sports fans results in any broadcasters agreeing to promote the events, even if they risk athlete health and safety, or whether this circus falls as quickly as it has risen.
THE NATIONAL WOMEN’S SOCCER LEAGUE (NWSL)
Football in the United States has always played second fiddle to American Football, basketball and baseball.
But the success of the women’s national team has elevated ‘soccer’ to the mainstream while the growth of Major League Soccer has further enhanced the status of the beautiful game.
Revelations emerged in 2022 which suggested that the league, its clubs and the U.S. Soccer Federation failed to protect players and allowed misconduct to run rampant throughout the league.
A report, which was jointly commissioned by the NWSL and the NWSL Players Association, stated: “Misconduct against players has occurred at the vast majority of NWSL clubs at various times from the earliest years of the league to the present," referencing instances of inappropriate sexual remarks to players by staff in positions of power, blurred professional boundaries, and manipulation.
A pair of former players, Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim, came forward in 2021 and accused longtime NWSL coach Paul Riley of sexual harassment and coercion dating back a decade.
An investigation found that “Some types of misconduct against players, including certain instances of sexual abuse and manipulation, have already been widely reported.
“Other misconduct, which this Report discusses in detail below, has not received as much, if any, public attention. The Joint Investigative Team found, for example, that club staff in positions of power made inappropriate sexual remarks to players, mocked players' bodies, pressured players to lose unhealthy amounts of weight, crossed professional boundaries with players, and created volatile and manipulative working conditions.
“They used derogatory and insulting language towards players, displayed insensitivity towards players' mental health, and engaged in retaliation against players who attempted to report or did report concerns. Misconduct against players has occurred at the vast majority of NWSL clubs at various times from the earliest years of the League to the present."
Four coaches, including Riley, have been banned while some high ranking officials have been suspended and the Portland Thorns changed ownership as a result of the misconduct.
Tori Huster, the NWSLPA president and a former player for the Washington Spirit, credited the players who risked their careers to create change.
She said: “This $5 million restitution fund is not a gift. Nor is it justice. This fund exists because players refuse to be silenced. And we found the courage to stand together as a collective.
“This fund is an acknowledgment of unique failures and the harm suffered by players. It’s a testament to the players’ courage and a necessary step toward accountability. If the NWSL is safer today, it is because players fought to make it that way.”
The NWSL issued a statement this summer committing it to providing funds for current and former players who were affected.
NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said: “This marks a critical step toward accountability and healing. We are deeply grateful to the brave individuals who shared their experiences and to the Attorneys General for their partnership. We stand committed to ensuring justice is delivered with care, respect, and urgency.
“This agreement is a massive achievement, and I’m especially grateful that it includes increased mental health support for the players,” said Erin Simon, a retired player who was sexually abused during her time at Racing Louisville in 2021 and 2022.
“While it doesn’t change what happened or the pain caused to all the women named, unnamed and still suffering from what happened to them, it is a massive step. This is a continued fight that we cannot abandon, because of vigilance to protect the players should never stop.”
The $5 million restitution fund will be administered by a former federal judge, while there will also be reforms aimed at preventing future abuse and channels for players to confidentially report abuse.
Learnings
The Restitution Fund adds enforceable oversight that goes beyond soundbites.
The length of time the abuses took place has created a significant reputational crisis for soccer’s governance which should have been addressed far earlier.
The original scandal spread because institutions defaulted to classic self-protection: minimise, delay, manage the story.
But safeguarding crises endure as survivors come forward.
In PR terms, this is a shift from reactive comms to operational proof, by safeguarding systems that actually work.
The big takeaway for any organisation is brutally simple: safeguarding can’t just be a policy. It has to be culture, process and enforcement – with consequences that bite.
ENGLAND LIONESSES RACIST ABUSE
Chelsea and England defender Jess Carter faced criticism after an under-par performance during Euro 2025 which resulted in racist abuse from online trolls.
Despite winning plenty of trophies with Chelsea, she faced a backlash which prompted her to withdraw from social media.
She said: “From the start of the tournament I have experienced a lot of racial abuse. While I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result, I don't agree, or think, it's OK to target someone's appearance or race.
“As a result of this I will be taking a step back from social media and leaving it to a team to deal with."
The England women’s team has also confirmed they will no longer make the anti-racism gesture of taking the knee before matches.
In a statement they said: “Representing our country is the greatest honour. It is not right that while we are doing that, some of us are treated differently simply because of the colour of our skin.
“Until now, we have chosen to take the knee before matches. It is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism. We have agreed as a squad to remain standing before kick‑off on Tuesday.”
Anti-racism charity Kick It Out offered their support, stating: "We send our support to Jess Carter and back her decision to look after her own well-being. It shouldn’t come to a point where players feel the need to take this action; they should feel safe while doing their jobs. They should not be exposed to this sickening behaviour, and those responsible should face the strongest possible consequences.
"But responsibility also lies with social media companies. We support players in whatever actions they choose to take to signify their support in the fight against racism, but the focus should be on the reason behind those actions rather than the actions themselves.
"Social media companies have failed to prevent exposure to this toxicity, and football must continue to use its collective power to hold them to account. We have been working with the government and the regulator, but we know that more urgency is needed from everyone involved."
The Football Association (FA) announced it would work with authorities to track down those responsible for targeting Carter.
FA Chief Executive, Mark Bullingham, said: “As soon as we were made aware of the racist abuse Jess received, we immediately contacted UK police. They are in touch with the relevant social media platform, and we are working with police to ensure those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice.
“Regrettably, this is not the first time this has happened to an England player, so we had measures in place to allow us to respond quickly and where possible provide information to support any potential police action.
“We will continue to discuss with the relevant authorities and social media companies about what more can and should be done to prevent this abhorrent abuse.”
Carter had the last laugh, appearing in the final as England beat Spain on penalties, but if previous tournaments are anything to go by, this won’t be the last time a player is racially abused by disgruntled fans.
Learnings
The story reignited debate about what meaningful anti-racism action looks like, with England’s response and public statements becoming part of the news cycle.
This is a reputational crisis because it exposes football’s weakest flank: the gap between campaigns and consequences.
Fans have heard “No Room for Racism” for years. The question now is – what actually changes the incentives for abusers?
The comms challenge for governing bodies is that condemnation is necessary but no longer sufficient – and without the support of the social media companies, they are fighting a losing battle.
Tournament organisers need escalation protocols to deal with online abuse, putting in place safeguarding plans that ensure minimal impact on players.
The alternative is a cycle of abuse, statement, outrage, repeat.
CONCLUSION
Across all ten crises, the pattern is consistent. Reputation isn’t what you say when something goes wrong. It’s what you do.
The smartest sports organisations will invest more in crisis readiness – governance that holds, processes that are transparent, and leadership that understands credibility is hard-won and easily lost.