Answer:
The punishment for removing weight from the 'handicap bag' was so harsh because if anyone would remove weight then others, too, would want to remove weights from their handicap bag, which will make their society step back to the Dark Ages of competition.
Step-by-step explanation:
Textual Evidence:
'“If I tried to get away with it,” said George, “then other people get away with it— and pretty soon we’d be right back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else.