New York Yankees' star Aaron Judge and the Tampa Bay Rays team were both recently accused of cheating. Granted, the accusers had little to no proof in each circumstance, but there were still accusations of sorts thrown around.

Aaron Judge's accusation came on Monday versus the Toronto Blue Jays, when he was spotted looking towards the dugout during his at-bat.

“You don't wanna go throwing allegations around without knowing but…” the Blue Jays broadcaster said.

Aaron Judge ended up hitting a home run in the at-bat.

Judge said after the game that he was looking towards his dugout because some Yankees players were “chirping” the umpire, something he wasn't fond of.

As for the Rays accusation, there was even less proof.

Tampa Bay previously defeated the Yankees during a series, and a New York radio host proceeded to question how the Rays can be so good without featuring much star-power.

WFAN Sports Radio’s Evan Roberts hinted at an allegation despite having no evidence whatsoever.

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“Here’s the problem, I know who they are,” he said of the Rays. “They're not good. The Rays are 19-3 at home? Hello! Are you going to wake up when the article is written in The Athletic, or are you going to wake up now? Sometimes you don’t need evidence, sometimes you gotta say ‘what I’m watching doesn’t make sense.'”

Therein lies the problem in all of this. Ever since the Houston Astros were caught for their sign-stealing scandal, everyone isn't shy about throwing around accusations. Catching the next potential cheater would lead to publicity and make you a hero in the sports world's eyes. However, tarnishing players and organizations' reputations without enough evidence isn't the way to go about this.

Yankees' Aaron Judge, Rays cheating accusations are inexcusable

Placing the word “cheater” next to someone's name isn't the proper course of action unless there is insurmountable evidence. The Blue Jays broadcasters stated that they didn't want to “go throwing allegations” around, but they still hinted at possible cheating. Although most fans won't automatically change their opinion of Judge, it does negatively impact his reputation to an extent, which had previously been rather flawless.

Assuming Judge isn't cheating, which it doesn't seem like he was, this incident will be left in the past and he will once again emerge as one of the most respected superstars in sports.

The Rays, a small-market team that has been using analytics to win for years, haven't seemed to change much in 2023. They just happen to be playing an excellent brand of baseball. A team without star power can still win games, and accusing them of cheating, like the New York radio host did, is truly inexcusable.

A perfect example is the New York Mets and San Diego Padres. Both of those teams feature no shortage of stars but have both struggled in 2023. The Rays, meanwhile, are relying on their approach and it works.

The Astros' scandal was unfortunate. Houston's 2017 World Series, regardless of one's opinion, will always be tied to controversy. But throwing around cheating allegations just to try and catch the next possible scandal is inappropriate and wrong. We shouldn't ignore cheating if there is enough evidence to back up allegations, but these two scenarios, between Aaron Judge and the Rays, didn't feature near-enough proof.