There's a new scandal plaguing professional sports: BagGate. And because of it, professional cornhole may never be the same again. (???)
The issue is that players get to bring their own bags . . . and they have to meet certain size and weight criteria.
But beyond that, nobody is really checking other important factors, like loose stitching, replaced fillings, or doctored fabric.
There are two major competitive bodies: The American Cornhole League and the American Cornhole Organization.
In the ACO, your bag has to be filled with plastic resin beads. In the ACL, the filling can be anything that doesn't damage or create residue on the board.
Bags get broken in naturally the more they're used. But that's not fast enough for some players . . . who illegally resort to FABRIC SOFTENERS or other chemical treatments.
Another issue is that bag manufacturers are flooding the market, and paying big bucks to be licensed by the pro leagues. So they're not really being held to rigorous standards.
One expert says, quote, "The money coming in from manufacturers for licensing the stamp is substantial, so why rock the boat by implementing additional compliance measures which make manufacturing bags under your stamp a more rigorous endeavor?"
It seems like it would be easy enough to fix the problem: Simply inspect everyone's bags at the beginning of a tournament. But for some reason, that's not being done right now.
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Image