Pete Rose, Lance Armstrong and 6 More Star Athletes Who Were Banned from Their Sport

Mar. 15, 2025

(L-R) Tonya Harding, Pete Rose and Lance Armstrong.Photo:CRAIG STRONG/AFP via Getty; Louis Requena/MLB via Getty; Mike Powell /Allsport via Getty

CRAIG STRONG/AFP via Getty; Louis Requena/MLB via Getty; Mike Powell /Allsport via Getty

The sporting world has its fair share of pariahs.

Across every discipline, high-profile bans have shocked fans worldwide. From Pete Rose’s lifetime ban for gambling accusations to Maria Sharapova’s suspension for a positive test for a banned substance, even the most well-known athletes must follow the strict rules of sports.

See where athletes like Rose,Tonya Harding,Lance Armstrongand more went after being banned temporarily or for life.

01of 08

Pete Rose

Louis Requena/MLB via Getty

Pete Rose, the MLB’s all-time hits leader, was banned from the league for life in August 1989 for gambling. An investigation found that Rose bet on games while he was the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, and although he initially denied the allegations, Rose admitted in his 2004 autobiography that he did bet on teams, including his own.

Rose had four children with his ex-wives: two with Karolyn Englehardt and two with Carol Woliung. He began datingPlayboymodel Kiana Kim during his separation from Woliung, and the two became engaged in 2011 but never married.

02of 08Lance ArmstrongLance Armstrong.Bob Martin /Sports Illustrated via GettyLance Armstrongwon the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005 but was stripped of all his titles — including his Olympic medal — after an investigation found that he had used performance-enhancing drugs over his entire career. During a2013 interviewwithOprah Winfrey, he admitted to using testosterone, human growth hormone and EPO and taking blood transfusions.The admission of guilt came after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency charged him with doping in 2012, and he lost endorsements, had to pay $5 million to the U.S. government and was banned from all sports that follow the World Anti-Doping Code.Armstrong shares three children with his ex-wife Kristin Richard and remarried to Anna Hansen Armstrong in August 2022. He shares two children with Anna.Now based out of Austin, Texas, the former cyclist hosts two podcasts:THEMOVEandThe Forward. He also appeared on the Fox reality showStars on Marsin 2023.

02of 08

Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong.Bob Martin /Sports Illustrated via Getty

Bob Martin /Sports Illustrated via Getty

Lance Armstrongwon the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005 but was stripped of all his titles — including his Olympic medal — after an investigation found that he had used performance-enhancing drugs over his entire career. During a2013 interviewwithOprah Winfrey, he admitted to using testosterone, human growth hormone and EPO and taking blood transfusions.

The admission of guilt came after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency charged him with doping in 2012, and he lost endorsements, had to pay $5 million to the U.S. government and was banned from all sports that follow the World Anti-Doping Code.

Armstrong shares three children with his ex-wife Kristin Richard and remarried to Anna Hansen Armstrong in August 2022. He shares two children with Anna.

Now based out of Austin, Texas, the former cyclist hosts two podcasts:THEMOVEandThe Forward. He also appeared on the Fox reality showStars on Marsin 2023.

03of 08

Tonya Harding

Tonya Harding.David Madison/Getty

David Madison/Getty

In one of figure skating’s most controversial decisions,Tonya Hardingwas stripped of her national championship and banned from the sport for life for her involvement in the attack of her rivalNancy Kerrigan.

Harding was convicted of hindering the investigation and received three years probation, 500 hours of community service and a $160,000 fine — as well as a lifetime ban from figure skating. A2008 PEOPLE profilerevealed she had been arrested twice — once for a DUI and once for an attempted suicide.

Harding lived her life away from the limelight in the years that followed. She wed Joseph Jens Price in 2010, and the couple welcomed a son together in 2011.

Margot Robbieplayed the former athlete in the biopicI, Tonya, which brought her back into the limelight. She participated in season 26 ofDancing with the Starsand placed third overall.

04of 08Alex RodriguezAlex Rodriguez.Rob Tringali/SportsChrome/GettyIn 2013, the Yankees’Alex Rodriguezreceived a 211-game suspension after the MLB found that he used prohibited substances from 2010 to 2012. Rodriguez admitted to the Drug Enforcement Administration that he had used performance-enhancing drugs from the rejuvenation clinic Biogenesis of America.He retired from baseball after the 2016 season and became a sports broadcaster for networks like Fox Sports 1, ESPN and CNBC. He began datingJennifer Lopezin February 2017, and the two became engaged in March 2019 butcalled it offin April 2021.He is currently with his girlfriend of two years, fitness trainerJaclyn Cordeiro.

04of 08

Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez.Rob Tringali/SportsChrome/Getty

Rob Tringali/SportsChrome/Getty

In 2013, the Yankees’Alex Rodriguezreceived a 211-game suspension after the MLB found that he used prohibited substances from 2010 to 2012. Rodriguez admitted to the Drug Enforcement Administration that he had used performance-enhancing drugs from the rejuvenation clinic Biogenesis of America.

He retired from baseball after the 2016 season and became a sports broadcaster for networks like Fox Sports 1, ESPN and CNBC. He began datingJennifer Lopezin February 2017, and the two became engaged in March 2019 butcalled it offin April 2021.

He is currently with his girlfriend of two years, fitness trainerJaclyn Cordeiro.

05of 08

Metta Sandiford-Artest

Lakers Metta World Peace.Photo Credit: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

After the Malice in the Palace, where Indiana Pacers players got into a brawl with Detroit Pistons fans, the NBA suspended Metta Sandiford-Artest (formerly known as Ron Artest) for the remainder of the 2004-2005 season. The retired basketball player missed a total of 86 games and lost approximately $5 million in salary, according to MSNBC.

He returned at the start of the 2005-2006 season after being traded to the Sacramento Kings, and he went on to have a successful career before retiring in 2017, winning an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010.

06of 08

Marion Jones

Marion Jones.Mike Powell/Allsport via Getty

Mike Powell/Allsport via Getty

In January 2008, she was sentenced to six months in jail for check fraud and using performance-enhancing drugs.

She later played for the WNBA with the Tulsa Shock between 2010 and 2011. Now, Jones is a mother of three and stepped away from the sporting world to reflect on “why certain choices were made,” she said in a 2024Good Morning Americainterview.

07of 08Maria SharapovaMaria Sharapova.Abbie Parr/GettyMaria Sharapovaannounced in a 2016 press conference that she had tested positive for the banned substance meldonium. She says the use wasn’t intentional, as World Anti-Doping Agency had only recently banned the drug and she didn’t realize. Sharapova was dealt a two-year suspension that was later reduced to 15 months.She returned to the court in 2017, but after three uneventful years on tour and persistent injuries, the five-time Grand Slam champion retired after the 2020 Australian Open.The tennis star is now engaged to British businessmanAlexander Gilkes, and they share a son,Theodore, born in July 2022.

07of 08

Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova.Abbie Parr/Getty

Abbie Parr/Getty

Maria Sharapovaannounced in a 2016 press conference that she had tested positive for the banned substance meldonium. She says the use wasn’t intentional, as World Anti-Doping Agency had only recently banned the drug and she didn’t realize. Sharapova was dealt a two-year suspension that was later reduced to 15 months.

She returned to the court in 2017, but after three uneventful years on tour and persistent injuries, the five-time Grand Slam champion retired after the 2020 Australian Open.

The tennis star is now engaged to British businessmanAlexander Gilkes, and they share a son,Theodore, born in July 2022.

08of 08Martina HingisMartina Hingis.Dimitri Iundt/Corbis/VCG via GettyMartina Hingis, a five-time Grand Slam champion, tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine after the 2007 Wimbledon Championships. Although she decided to retire at the end of the year due to a hip injury, she appealed to the International Tennis Federation but was rejected and handed a two-year ban.Hingis later returned to professional tennis as a doubles player in 2013, winning four Grand Slams in women’s doubles and six in mixed doubles. She retired for the third time in 2017.The tennis star married sports physician Harald Leemann in July 2018, and the couple welcomed their first child, daughter Lia, in February 2019. Hingis and Leemann divorced in August 2022.

08of 08

Martina Hingis

Martina Hingis.Dimitri Iundt/Corbis/VCG via Getty

Dimitri Iundt/Corbis/VCG via Getty

Martina Hingis, a five-time Grand Slam champion, tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine after the 2007 Wimbledon Championships. Although she decided to retire at the end of the year due to a hip injury, she appealed to the International Tennis Federation but was rejected and handed a two-year ban.

Hingis later returned to professional tennis as a doubles player in 2013, winning four Grand Slams in women’s doubles and six in mixed doubles. She retired for the third time in 2017.

The tennis star married sports physician Harald Leemann in July 2018, and the couple welcomed their first child, daughter Lia, in February 2019. Hingis and Leemann divorced in August 2022.

source: people.com