Of all the sports to be rocked with a cheating scandal, professional cornhole ranks among the last to come to mind, but as the Good Book tells us, a time exists for everything.
Indeed, just as the world of professional chess has finished grappling with its own alleged cheating scandal, professional cornhole has stepped up to fill the void. According to the Wall Street Journal, the controversy centers on the 2022 American Cornhole League World Championships that transpired in South Carolina this past August, where a team may or may not have used illegal beanbags:
With the cornhole world watching live on ESPN, officials inspected the bags with the solemnity required for such a grave complaint. Then they huddled near sponsor banners for Johnsonville sausage products and Bush’s baked beans.
It was true—the bags weren’t regulation size. “They’re too small,” color commentator Mark Pryor exclaimed to viewers. “That’s going to create some drama.”
Competitors have lodged a complaint against players Mark Richards and Philip Lopez, claiming they tampered with the beanbags to make them thin for a slight advantage. The internet has since coined the scandal “BagGate.
Jamie Graham tosses a bag during his semi-final match with Mark Richards during the American Cornhole League Pro Singles World Championship finals at the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Aug. 6, 2022. (Logan Cyrus for the Washington Post via Getty Images)
The cheating typically occurs before the match when some players boil their beanbags or wash them in vinegar to make them more pliable and slick for sliding into the hole. Some players will also smooth the bags with sandpaper or crush the beans with hammers and mallets. Cornhole professional Nate Voyer told WSJ that some players will even lay plywood over their bags and drive cars over it.
Whether or not such cheating applies to the championship remains unknown. Still, American Cornhole Association (ACA) spokesman Trey Ryder said that officials at the match determined that no intentional violations had occurred after a one-hour delay.
Mark Richards has his picture made after winning the final match of the American Cornhole League Pro Singles World Championship finals at the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Aug. 6, 2022. ( Logan Cyrus for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“It’s possible, but I’m pretty confident that it wasn’t intentional,” Ryder said.
“We’ve really had to crack down to make sure that all these bags are to spec,” he added. “Internally we’ve had to invest more into our compliance.”
Player Lopez said, “I don’t know how they became illegal-sized. We did not boil the bags.”
The ACA said it will release new team rules and regulations for the 2023 season to better ensure no more questions of cheating arise.