Although this aspect of a sportsman is not major, it is nonetheless a talking point. Athletes tend to do inappropriate actions that can lead into the public domain. It is because of their status and importance that their punishment is a mere slap on the wrist. This results in community service and some form of management. Although the outing of these actions will affect the responsible individual/s, it doesn't change the stance of others.
A popular example can be the Sandpapergate saga in 2018. It occurred in a Test match between South Africa and Australia. It involved three players: Australia captain Steve Smith; David Warner and Cameron Bancroft. It involved rubbing sandpaper on the ball to affect the swing in flight. This gave rise to a large media storm. The result (of the scandal) was a one match suspension from the governing board.
However, this was considered unsatisfactory to the public. They demanded a rougher punishment. This led to a 9 month and year suspension for Bancraft and both Smith and Warner, respectively. They were also demanded to perform community service. Smith and Warner were also barred from leadership roles for a time period. This, to me, is way too lenient.
Although they were punished, this doesn't send a clear message. Cheating in any form is a disgraceful act. Even in school and university, their consequences for actions such as both cheating and plagiarism is taken seriously. It can lead to expulsion and a pernament black mark on your record. These two aspects can lead to every other school and university from preventing the person from enrollment. A person who does this, runs the risk of not finishing their educational career and facing an unclear future. This kind of punishment is perfect to me.
I would agree with suspensions when it comes to minor issues such as a popular one in betting. When you look at cases of Kieran Trippier and quite recently Ivan Toney and Sandro Tonali. Despite it being illegal, no one gets harmed. In all cases of betting, the respective players never hindered their performances or bet against their team. No harm, no foul in my eyes.
Speaking of betting, this brings up the case of Hansie Cronje. Match fixing is apparently a far higher level of misconduct than cheating. In Cronje's case, a lifetime ban was issued. To me, this sends a clear and loud message. I don't understand why cheating and match fixing are on different spectrums. They are equal in seriousness to me. All kinds of misconduct should be treated as one huge catergory and not like a medieval class of socials. Every single one is vital and again, equal.
It seems to me that 'proper' action is only taken when an athlete has committed an actual crime. In my view, there are two prominent examples: Oscar Pistorius and Chris Benoit. The former's status, as far as I know, is unclear. Although he is currently out on parole, his name is always going to tarnished and attached to the heinous act of murder. Although he could technically return to the athletic tracks, his participation will be judged and quite clearly determined by the outside public.
The story of Chris Benoit is far more tragic. Despite there being extenuating circumstances (Benoit possibly suffered from CTE - Chronic Traumatic Encephalogy), this doesn't excuse the double murder - suicide. The reaction pre and post announcement is quite telling. Pre announcement, there was a whole tribute show to him. However, things changed drastically when the announcement of the manner of deaths were released. His name was effectively erased from history. This led to his name never being mentioned in the business and there is no mention of the 2004 Royal Rumble match - which he won - entering at no. 1.
The point that I am trying to make from these two stories is that serious crimes is treated on the same level of doping. Hence, their names will always be associated with their disgusting acts. From now on, Pistorius will never be remembered for being the first paralympian to participate in fully abled track events. Evidence for this was his recent parole release. Every reporter on site and the newsrooms didn't say a syllable of his achievements - just his release from prison and the reasoning behind it.
In conclusion, scandals and infrigments will always exist in sports. All forms of cheating and crimes should be treated on a single serious level. Simple suspension and fines will do nothing for the future. While it may stop the offenders from a repeated action, those who are young will mostly not take notice of what's happened. There will always be sportsmen and women who have some of affliction towards an illegal act. There should be a golden rule - any form of cheating should lead to banishment from all forms in the particular sport they participate in.