The Houston Astros' 2017 sign-stealing scandal has become a massive story.
And Danny Ainge is uniquely positioned to weigh in on it.
The Boston Celtics president of basketball operations spent three seasons in the major leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays before beginning his basketball career. As such, he's been following the MLB investigation that found the 2017 Astros used an elaborate system involving trash cans to steal signs en route to a World Series victory.
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He's also been following the debate over whether Houston should be stripped of its 2017 World Series title -- and seems to support such a move if there's enough evidence against the Astros.
"It's a pretty big issue that I think needs to be handled," Ainge said Wednesday on 98.5 The Sports Hub's "Toucher & Rich." "I'm not sure what is even justice.
"If it was done as flagrantly as some people are claiming, then they should probably have their championship taken away from them. And if it was not as dramatic as some people say, then maybe not."
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said he considered stripping Houston of its championship but decided against it.
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Ainge doesn't know the full details of the league's findings, but has enough baseball experience to know that illegal sign-stealing is no small crime.
"I don't know what the investigation is finding, but it sounds bad," Ainge said. "It sounds like flagrant cheating. If they found someone was using steroids or something like that, I don't know what the penalties would be after the fact, but this is every bit as much cheating.
When a hitter knows what pitch is coming, that's flagrantly cheating. I don't know how it gets much worse than that.
Ainge's comments come a day after Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James tweeted he'd be "f*^king irate" if he found out he'd been cheated out of a championship, so this scandal clearly has expanded beyond the MLB community.
And there aren't many who feel much sympathy for the Astros.
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