By Lucy Kramer, Newswire Intern

What do Reddit threads, sports broadcasters and the Newswire office all have in common? They’re all abuzz talking about what was in chess player Hans Neimann’s butt. 

There is no concrete evidence that Hans Neimann was using vibrating anal beads to communicate with members of the audience during a competition on Sept. 19.  

Reddit users speculated that 19-year-old Hans Neimann could have been cheating through the use of sex toys during the St. Louis Sinquefield Cup putting an end to world chess champion Magnus Carlsen’s 53-game win streak. However, Neimann has admitted to cheating in past tournaments when he was 12 and 16 years old.

The allegations and conspiracies have become so widespread that even Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted about the incident in a post that has since been deleted. On Sept. 26, Magnus Carlsen went to Twitter to comment on his shocking withdrawal from the match for the first time.

“I believe that Neimann has cheated more – and more recently – than he has publicly admitted,” Carlsen said in his statement. Neimann has since denied the allegations, but officials in the world of chess will continue to look into the incident. This bizarre scandal was not the only one to rock the world of sports lately. 

Controversy in the world of professional poker and professional fishing has also surfaced. Following the high-stakes match at the Hustler Casino in Los Angeles on Sept. 29, poker enthusiasts have taken to social media after Garret Adelstein made the unusual decision to go all-in in a match against Robbi Jude Lew. Watching the live stream you can hear the clear shock in the broadcaster’s voices as they could not believe what they were seeing.

After the match, Adelstein and Lew decided to have a private conversation to avoid further drama. During the private conversation, Lew returned the chips to her opponent after saying that he “cornered me and  threatened me,” which is something Adelstein has since denied. 

Now, the two have taken to this feud publicly on Twitter where Adelstein speculated that somebody may have been communicating with Lew via a vibrating device, a trend that seems to be popping up a lot lately where cheating allegations are concerned. On Oct. 1, Hustler Casino took to Twitter to assure fans that the situation is being investigated by third-party experts.

“High Stakes Poker Productions is in the process of retaining experts to conduct a thorough and independent investigation of the hand involving Garrett and Robbi,” Hustler Casino tweeted. 

More locally in Cleveland, OH on Sept. 30, another scandal was born in the wake of Lake Erie’s Walleye Trial’s (LEWT) last competition of the 2022 season. In a video that arose on Twitter on Oct. 1, a man can be seen cutting into the catches of professional fishermen Chase Cominsky and Jake Runyan before pulling out what appears to be multiple lead weights and pieces of walleye filet from many of their catches. In the video, Runyan decided to remain silent as furious spectators heckle him in the crowd. 

Cominsky is not shown in the video. This is not the first time the pair have been at the center of speculation. Last year the duo was disqualified after winning a competition last year when one of them failed a polygraph test. Runyan had denied those allegations a year ago. Now, neither he nor Cominsky have commented on their most recent cheating allegations. However, officials are investigating this situation as well.