NOTE: These notes are a composite of several editions of the book. They have not yet been modified to include material from the Second Canadian Edition, but the older material is a good basis for the present edition of the book. The Exam Review Questions are based on the Second Canadian Edition. Answers to these questions can be found both in the book and in the Powerpoint slides for the chapter. If you are unable to find an answer in the text, look in the Powerpoint slides. You have to be logged in to moodle in order to access the Powerpoint slides.
- PROBLEMS FACED WHEN STUDYING "DEVIANCE" IN
SPORTS
- DEFINING AND STUDYING "DEVIANCE" IN
SPORTS: THREE THEORETICAL APPROACHES
- Using Functionalist Theory: "Deviance" Distrupts
Shared Values
- Using Conflict Theory: "Deviance" Interferes
with the Interests of Those with Economic Power
- Using Interactionist and Critical
Theories: "Deviance" Is Based in Social
Processes and Power Relations
- The Sport Ethic and "Deviance" in Sports
- Why Do Athletes Engage in "Deviant" Overconformity?
- "Deviant" Overconformity and Group Dynamics
- "Deviant" Overconformity and "Deviant" Underconformity: Is There a Connection?
- Controlling "Deviant" Overconformity in Sports
- RESEARCH ON "DEVIANCE" AMONG ATHLETES
- "Deviance" on the Field and in Sport Settings
- "Deviance" off the Field and Away from Sports
- Delinquency Rates
- Alcohol Use and Binge Drinking
- Felony Rates
- In Summary
- Why Focus Only on "Deviance" among Athletes?
- PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING SUBSTANCES: A CASE OF "DEVIANT" OVERCONFORMITY IN SPORTS
- Defining and Banning Performance-Enhancing Substances
- Why Is the Challenge of Substance Control So Great in Sports Today?
- Drug Testing as a Deterrent
- Controlling Substance Use in Sports: Where to Start
- SUMMARY: IS "DEVIANCE" IN SPORTS OUT OF CONTROL?
Table of Contents
PROBLEMS FACED WHEN STUDYING "DEVIANCE" IN
SPORTS
DEFINING AND STUDYING "DEVIANCE" IN
SPORTS: THREE THEORETICAL APPROACHES
Using Functionalist Theory: "Deviance" Distrupts
Shared Values
Using Conflict Theory: "Deviance" Interferes
with the Interests of Those with Economic Power
Using Interactionist and Critical
Theories: "Deviance" Is Based in Social Processes and Power Relations
The Sport Ethic and "Deviance" in
Sports
Why Do Athletes Engage in "Deviant" Overconformity?
"Deviant" Overconformity
and Group Dynamics
"Deviant" Overconformity
and "Deviant" Underconformity: Is There a Connection?
Controlling "Deviant" Overconformity
in Sports
RESEARCH ON "DEVIANCE" AMONG
ATHLETES
"Deviance" on the Field
and in Sport Settings
"Deviance" off the Field
and Away from Sports
Delinquency Rates
Alcohol Use and Binge Drinking
Felony Rates
In Summary
Why Focus Only on "Deviance" among
Athletes?
PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING SUBSTANCES:
A CASE OF "DEVIANT" OVERCONFORMITY IN SPORTS
Defining and Banning Performance-Enhancing
Substances
Why Is the Challenge of Substance
Control So Great in Sports Today?
Drug Testing as a Deterrent
Controlling Substance Use in Sports:
Where to Start
SUMMARY: IS "DEVIANCE" IN
SPORTS OUT OF CONTROL?
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little concern pre-1970's
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will attempt to look at the following:
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problems faced when dealing with deviance in
sports
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definition of deviance
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the connection between men's sport and sexual assault
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why athletes use performance-enhancing drugs - whether it is
possible to control drug use in sport
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DEFINING AND STUDYING DEVIANCE IN
SPORTS: THREE APPROACHES
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usual sociological approach is to compare actual behavior with a norm -
the more the difference, the more the deviance
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this approach contains biases (e.g. gender, social class, race)
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how can we resolve differences between one person who believes that
the "essence" of sports is to win and another who believes
that sport is simply the embodiment of "fair play"
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given a norm, the greater the difference between a behavior and the norm,
the greater the deviance
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... but, depends on the definition of the ideal (e.g. fair play vs.
winning
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fair play concept: all fouls are bad
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winning concept: some fouls
are "good fouls"
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sport seen as play: aggression is bad
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sport seen as "war without weapons": aggression is
good
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functionalist roots: existing value systems are right (simply because they
exist)
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leads to a "law and order" orientation:
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leads to rules, rules and more rules
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leads to more strict rules
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leads to stronger systems for detecting and punishing offenders
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leads to campaigns to make people more aware of both the rules
and the punishments
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leads to belief that someone who does not follow the "natural" rules
is either weak, ignorant, mentally ill, etc.
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no behavior and/or person is inherently deviant - only that which is
defined to be so by those in positions of power
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everyone naturally
acts in their own interests - therefore "what's good for the goose
is good for the gander"
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those who do not have any say in society are in more danger of having
their behavior labeled as deviant, just because they cannot defend it as
being normal
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conflict theory roots: e.g. rules in sport are based on what the owners
want
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athletes do not even have the power to protest the discrimination, let
alone to eliminate it
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people in power determine the rules, therefore who/what is labeled "deviant"
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problem:
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what to do
when the same deviant behaviors are found in high level (e.g. pro) and
low level (e.g. age-group) settings - there are no "owners" controlling
the athletes, especially in teams run by the athletes themselves
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what to do when there is no objective determination of right and
wrong
- cannot control something which is legal according to some
sub-cultural norm (e.g. My family thinks that drug use is good!)
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all current forms of established sport are by definition, wrong
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no hope for present sports ... need a radical transformation
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but this is still grounded on the profit-motive (i.e. "profit-driven exploitation" pg.
143)
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so how do relativists advocate that we control deviance?
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give athletes
more power - then they will no long be victims
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change the political system so that athletes will not be encouraged to
use destructive/dehumanizing behavior
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absolutists: deviance as a failure to conform
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rule violators are looked on as disruptive
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relativists: deviance result of biased/coercive rules
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rule violators exploited and victimized
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maybe good to look at behavior on a normal probability distribution
(subnormal - underconformity to normal to supernormal - overconformity)
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underconformity:
behavior which involves a rejection of rules or a lack of awareness of
rules - negative deviance - leads to anarchy
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overconformity: behavior which is based on blind acceptance of rules
- positive deviance - leads to fascism
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Ewald & Jiobu (1985): bodybuilders and distance runners - goal
pursuit like an addiction
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negative effect on family and work
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negative effect on health
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Nash (1987): compulsive
long-distance runners and anorexics - too much
emphasis on exercise/control
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other studies:
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deviant eating behaviors
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too much rigidity in training for competition in bicyclists
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too much of a tendency to play with pain
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- have to make sacrifices "for
the game"
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right attitude, commitment, perform up to expectations, make
sacrifices, etc.
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- have to strive for distinction
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e.g. like Toffler's "maximization" principle (remember Third
Wave: Maximization, Specialization, Bureaucratization, Concentration,
Centralization, Synchronization)
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- have to accept risk and play through pain
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risk and pain are a natural part of the job
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- have to believe that there are no limits
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" If you think you are beaten, you are; If you think you dare not,
you don't; If you'd like to win but think you can't, it's almost certain
you won't; Life's battles often go, to the stronger or swifter man; But
sooner or later the man who wins, is the one who thinks he can
(Anonymous) - whole point is that one's dedication can make anything
possible
|
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the problems come when athletes overconform to the sport ethic
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sometimes this overconformance is rewarded (e.g. Kerry Strutt's vault
in the Atlanta Olympics)
|
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- Sports are so good they don't want to quit
- overconformance can help to get one selected to a team
|
the whole issue of "pushing oneself" involves
positive deviance and is very difficult to criticize - let alone to control
|
Nike, 1996: emphasis on playing with pain; use of images (healed)
demonstrating athletes' commitment to training/trying too hard
|
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who is most likely to overconform?
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athletes with low self-esteem ... sport sacrifices = acceptance by
peers
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athletes who see sport success as only way to get ahead
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probably more prevalent among men because men carry sport identify
in different situations
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probably more prevalent among low-income minority athletes
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probably more prevalent among those whose relationships with
significant others have been based mainly around sport
|
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is it possible that some coaches (e.g. Karolyi?) create sport environments
that keep athletes uncertain and continually in a state of adolescence
(dependency = overconformity)
|
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|
demonstration of unqualified commitment helps to create bonds of
friendship and membership
|
creation of a "we-they" system which can lead to a superiority
complex - athletes come to think of themselves as "special"
| therefore attempts to keep competing when it is time to quit or
retire
| | therefore repeated surgery in an attempt to keep the body going
for just a little while longer
| |
therefore use of hormones so as to improve functioning
|
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hubris (pride-driven arrogance) of competitive sport might lead to
negative deviance (e.g. assault, sexual harassment, violence, etc.)
|
strong bonding (sometimes encourages overconforming deviance)
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separation from the rest of the community
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create pride-driven arrogance
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key point: sport-related deviance is probably highly associated with
desire to play and to be a part of an elite group - this is social, not
economic
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e.g. astronauts, pilots, special forces teams, fraternities
|
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when athletes overconform, others benefit (e.g. owners, managers, sponsors
and coaches) - they will therefore not control it
|
more of a problem if someone who has overconformed earlier as an
athlete, becomes promoted and is now a coach
|
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how to control overconformance:
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must constantly raise questions
about "why" we are doing
what we do
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athletes should question why they must play with pain
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Back to Table of Contents
RESEARCH ON DEVIANCE AMONG ATHLETES
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note the tendency to look at athletes' deviance from the
point of view of the news media - tendency there is to blow up the
individual incident and ignore the general trend
|
not enough systematic studies of deviance in various
situations
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|
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e.g. spitball pitches, steroid use, intimidation/violence, unsportsmanlike
behavior
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inconclusive proof of the relative extent of this deviance as compared
with the past
|
note that dirty play, cheating and violence have been part of sports
for the entire 20th century, so TV and/or "big money" cannot
be blamed for the "creation" of the problem
|
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Bredemeier & Shields, 1984, 1986; Donnelly & Young, 1985, 1988:
athletes create or stretch the rules
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e.g. tests of courage (see what they can take)
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sometimes violence is used as a demonstration of "worth"
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perhaps there are more incidents of deviance in the same ratio as the
creation of new rules by all of the many governing bodies that exist today (thousands
more than the number 50 years ago)
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need more research
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| | | |
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e.g. fights, use of recreational drugs, easy courses, shady deals
|
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general data show that compared with students from similar
backgrounds, athletes have lower rates of delinquent and deviant behavior
(sports, gender, race, class)
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key point is whether a selection process is involved
(self-selection, coach-selection or preferential treatment)
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reportedly high rates of sexual abuse, assault, rape and
gang rape among male athletes in certain sports ... however, more
confirmatory studies needed
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Curry, 1991: male big-time intercollegiate locker-room talk involved
sexism and treatment of women as objects
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... but no information as to actual behavior
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Is
Sport Participation a "Cure" for Deviant Behavior?
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Trulson, 1986: Tae Kwon Do training for 34 delinquent males
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Group 1: traditional training & philosophy
(respect, fitness, self-control, etc.)
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Group 2: modern training (free sparring and self-defense
techniques)
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Group 3: jogging, BB ... but no Tae Kwon Do training
|
results:
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Group 1 - fewer delinquent tendencies, less anxiety,
higher self-esteem
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Group 2 - increased delinquent tendencies, more
aggression, less well-adjusted
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Group 3 - no change on delinquency, self-esteem up
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THE MORAL OF THE STORY
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for positive outcomes, need:
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philosophy of nonviolence
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respect (self and others)
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importance of fitness and self control
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confidence in physical skills
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sense of responsibility
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A WORD OF CAUTION
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Snyder, 1994: qualitative analysis of burglaries committed by 9
university athletes (almost all swimmers)
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formation of special bonds, arrogance and separation from rest
of community might be related
|
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Donnelly, 1993: binge incidents of Canadian national-level
athletes during periods of break from training
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A FINAL NOTE
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sports are sites associated with powerful experiences ...
can then result in either deviance or virtue
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youth need adult guidance
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others also are deviant in sport:
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coaches - verbal, physical and sexual abuse of players under their
control
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administrators who avoid adherence to Title IX guidelines
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team owners who violate anti-trust laws
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sports administrators who take bribes
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team managers and player personnel staff who use racist criteria
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media personnel who blow up incidents in order to get a good story
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agents who mislead and cheat athletes
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spectators who throw objects on the field, fight, destroy property,
bet illegally
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race horse owners who have their horses killed in order to collect
on the life insurance policy (Nack & Munson, 1992)
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Back to Table of Contents
PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING
SUBSTANCES: A CASE STUDY OF DEVIANCE IN SPORT
Defining, identifying, and Banning
Performance-Enhancing Drugs
|
there are many drugs ...which are "bad" and which are
"good?"
|
IOC doping definition:
|
... substance foreign to the body, or ... physiological substance
taken in abnormal quantity, or ... abnormal route of entry into the body
... in order to gain an unfair competitive advantage
|
any medical treatment with a substance which gives a competitive
boost, is also classified as doping
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problems:
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aspirin and Tylenol are foreign but not banned
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natural hormone Testosterone is banned
|
vitamin megadoses not banned but decongestants are
|
why is muscle stimulation not banned?
|
why is herbal tea banned?
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why is making weight not banned?
|
etc. etc.
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| | | | | |
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1984 Hollman comment (president of World Federation of Sports Medicine):
will never again see a high performance sport event which does not include
doping
|
if it is the brain/nervous system's responses to stimulation which causes
hormone production, how can anyone regulate the body's own response to
stimulation
|
ability to "know" genetic
determinants of structure and function of the body (e.g. as a result
of the Human Genome Project), will make it
possible to conduct doping on a much more sophisticated level
|
other problems:
|
testing for substance effects from small amount of a drug when common
use is in much larger doses
|
testing for single drug effects
when drugs are often taken in "cocktails" (mixtures of
drugs)
|
if high level participation
in a sport can be the cause of injuries (e.g. stress fractures in
gymnasts), why would an athlete worry about "possible" negative
effects of a drug?
|
why should society go after athletes when the drug abuses of average
people are so common (e.g. tranquilizers, pain pills, anti-depressants,
diet pills, etc.)
|
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Drug Testing in Sports
|
IOC first banned doping in 1967 ... later drug testing at 1968 Olympics
(no penalties)
|
since as many as 68% of track and field athletes used steroids by 1972
(Todd, 1987), IOC introduced anabolic steroid testing at 1974 Commonwealth
Games (no penalties)
|
1976 Olympics: 275 athletes tested positive for steroids, but most had
already switched from anabolic steroids (unnatural substance, but not so
dangerous) to testosterone (natural substance, but dangerous)
|
1980 testing done on potential US participants in Moscow Olympics showed
that 20% would have tested positive to testosterone use
|
1982: testosterone added to list of banned substances by the IOC
|
1984: 86 US athletes tested positive for steroid use (no penalties) ...
still, athletes changed to use of human Growth Hormone (hGH) - could not be
detected easily
|
1988 & 1992: only a few athletes tested positive, but there were
many rumours about widespread use of something
|
| | | | | |
|
arguments against testing:
|
if athletes are going to continue to attempt to beat the drug testing "system," why
not legalize drug use?
|
would allow for safer use of drugs
|
|
testing procedures cannot detect all banned substances - especially
new ones - so why do it?
|
what about the athletes' rights to privacy ... could lead to more
intrusive state intervention in people's lives
|
| |
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arguments in favour of testing:
|
should not allow substances which
let athletes go beyond their "natural" abilities ... cannot
determine the true winners
|
immorality issue ... it's bad, stop it
|
health issue
|
should make testing mandatory, regular and unscheduled
|
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Controlling Substance Use in Sports
|
since athletes are neither a) lacking in character/sanity/etc. nor b)
victims of oppression, absolutists' and relativists' solutions are not
appropriate
|
recommendations:
|
eliminate use of "legal" performance-enhancing
drugs (e.g. pain killers, vitamins, blood boosting, special casting,
etc.)
|
make rules which show that risking one's health in sports is not
appropriate
|
do not allow athletes to play while injured
|
should develop norms about recognizing one's limits ... define courage
in sports as courage to be well in health
|
should emphasize the growth
and development of the athlete instead of the development of the
sport (sport psychology should avoid use of "psycho-doping")
|
should be formal discussion of the appropriateness of the sport ethic
|
make drug education part of a larger "deviance and health
education" program
|
| | | | | |
|
notion of "deviance education:"
|
create norms about how we should use new medical knowledge
|
critically examine sport value systems
|
redefine the meaning of sport experiences vis a vis
performance-enhancing technologies
|
highlight the fact that athlete behavior is under their control and is
determined by their choices
|
| | |
|
| |
CONCLUSION: IS DEVIANCE IN SPORT
OUT OF CONTROL?
|
usually deviance is a product of overconformity to norms - not
underconformity
|
normal distribution approach seems to be an appropriate way to explain
deviance
|
most on-the-field deviance involves an unquestioned acceptance of the
sport ethic
|
use of performance-enhancing substances is a big problem ... athletes have
seemed to be able to keep ahead of the rule makers since testing was
introduced in 1967
|
positive deviance requires an examination of the norms of sport -
especially by the coaches and athletes themselves
|
| | | |
EXAM REVIEW QUESTIONS
- Coakley and Donnelly cite five problems faced by those studying deviance in sports. List and briefly discuss each of them. (5 points)
- Briefly discuss how theoretical orientations can affect how one defines deviance in sports. Using functionalist theory, conflict theory and interactionist/critical theory, present two points from each which affect how deviance is seen. (6 points)
- Describe the constuctionist approach to deviance in sports, together with its four main points. (6 points)
- Describe the difference between deviant underconformity and deviant overconformity as they are believed to operate in sports. (4 points)
- What is the sport ethic and how might it be involved in deviance in sports? In your answer, elaborate on the four major norms of the sport ethic. (6 points)
- What are the three main reasons presented by the authors as too why athletes might engage in deviant overconformity and what two characteristics of athletes may predispose them to engage in deviant overconformity? (5 points)
- According to Coakley and Donnelly, how are social processes involved in deviant overconformity, and how might overconformity (and possibly underconformity as well) be controlled in sports? (8 points)
- Briefly define and discuss two of the three areas presented in the text connected with off the field deviance. (4 points)
- According to the authors, there are 8 major factors which make contolling substance abuse in sport difficult to achieve. Briefly present any four of them. (4 points)
- Present four arguments in support of the use of drug testing in sports, and four arguments opposed to the use of drug testing in sports (8 points).
- Briefly discuss the six starting points listed in the text for controlling substance use in sports. (6 points)
Back to Table of Contents
Last Revised:
November 15, 2009 8:24 PM
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