Sports in Society:Issues & Controversies: Sports in Society: Issues andamp; Controversies Chapter 6 Deviance in Sports: Is It Out of Control?


What is Deviance?: What is Deviance? Deviance refers to actions, traits, or ideas that fall outside a range of acceptance as determined by people with the power to enforce norms in a social world


Approaches to Understanding Deviance: Approaches to Understanding Deviance Absolutist Behavior is either right or wrong Problem--andgt; 1 ideal=win, other is play fair


Slide4: Approaches to Understanding Deviance Necessary for keeping order by getting 'bad apples' out of sport


Approaches to Understanding Deviance: Approaches to Understanding Deviance Relativist Depends on who makes up the rules Athletes seen as victims of profit-driven system Must conform or lose ability to gain $$


Alternative viewpoint: Alternative viewpoint Coakley’s viewpoint Negative vs. Positive Behaviors, etc., usually fall into three categories: overconformity, underconformity and 'normal' range Underconformity = negative deviance= rejection of norms Overconformity = positive deviance = overacceptance of norms in sport


Problems Faced When Studying Deviance in Sports: Problems Faced When Studying Deviance in Sports Forms andamp; causes of deviance are diverse; one theory cannot explain them Actions accepted in sports may be deviant in other social situations; actions accepted in society at large may be deviance in sports


Problems Faced When Studying Deviance in Sports: Problems Faced When Studying Deviance in Sports 3. Deviance in sports often involves unquestioned acceptance of norms, not a rejection of norms 4. Training andamp; performance are now based on forms of science and technology for which regulatory norms may not exist


The need for a new approach to explain deviance in sports: The need for a new approach to explain deviance in sports Most deviance in sports is not due to the moral bankruptcy of athletes or a process of economic exploitation Therefore, we need an alternative explanation that is not based on to functionalism or conflict theory


The Sport Ethic: The Sport Ethic A set of norms that is used in power and performance sports as the criterion for defining what it means to be an athlete and to successfully claim an identity as an athlete


The Norms of the Sport Ethic: The Norms of the Sport Ethic 1. Must be willing to pay the price for success Locker room pep talks


The Norms of the Sport Ethic: The Norms of the Sport Ethic 2. Constantly seeking to improve Records are ultimate standard of achievement Must be willing to do anything to achieve these standards


The Norms of the Sport Ethic: The Norms of the Sport Ethic 3. Little thought into future health Rushing back to the playing field/court before completely healed Doesn’t give in to pain/fear Accepts risk of failure/injury as go up competitive pyramid


The Norms of the Sport Ethic: The Norms of the Sport Ethic An athlete accepts no Stresses the dream and pursuit without question Bodybuilders and distance runners--competed and trained to exclusion of all else (family, health, work) Saw no problem with that


Sport Ethic: Sport Ethic The greatest athletes want it so much, they run themselves to death. You’ve got to have an obsession, but if unchecked, it’s desctructive. That’s what it is with [Slaney]. She’ll kill herself unless you pull the reins back. --Alberto Salazar, coach of Mary Decker Slaney


Sport Ethic: Sport Ethic By themselves, these four ideals are valued and respected However, when they are accepted without question or criticism, and then are followed without limits/boundaries


Why Do Athletes Engage in Deviant Overconformity? : Why Do Athletes Engage in Deviant Overconformity? Playing sports is so exciting and exhilarating that athletes will do almost anything to stay involved Being selected to play high-performance sports may require over-conformity to the norms of the sport ethic Coaches/fans encouragement


Little Girls In Pretty Boxes (Ryan, 1996): Little Girls In Pretty Boxes (Ryan, 1996) Nadia Comaneci once cut her hand on the plastic and foam hand guards the gymnasts wear to perform on the uneven bars, and by the time she told anyone, she had blood poisoning up her arm. Betty Okino broke her arm, ripped a tendon away from her knee, fractured two vertebrae in her back and continued competing, even though she can no longer extend her arm fully and is plagued by chronic back pain


Little Girls In Pretty Boxes (Ryan, 1996): Little Girls In Pretty Boxes (Ryan, 1996) To rest an injury is to kill precious time, so the gymnast, and the gymnast’s coach will do anything to keep the girl competing, uninterrupted, no matter what Steve Nunno, Shannon Miller’s coach, was once quoted as saying, 'You can talk a kid into being healthy for as long as you need her. Once the meet is over, you can let her be hurt.'


Little Girls In Pretty Boxes (Ryan, 1996): Little Girls In Pretty Boxes (Ryan, 1996) 15-year-old Christy Henrich was 4’11' and weighed 90 pounds when she told her mother she needed to lose weight 'A judge told me I’d never make the Olympic team if I don’t lose weight.' She died of complications from anorexia nervosa, weighing less than 70


Athletes Most Likely to Overconform to the Sport Ethic: Athletes Most Likely to Overconform to the Sport Ethic Those with low self-esteem or strong needs to be accepted by peers in a sport Those who see achievements in sport as their only way to gain success (conflict theory) When winning is the sole measure of achievement, overconformity is more likely


Hypotheses About Deviance Among Athletes: Hypotheses About Deviance Among Athletes Deviance becomes more likely when Social bonds normalize risk taking Athletes are separated from the rest of the community Athletes develop extreme degrees of hubris-idea of self importance and above the ‘normal people’ When people in the community see athletes as being special because they engage in extreme behaviors


How to Control Deviant Overconformity in Sports: How to Control Deviant Overconformity in Sports As a coach/teacher, you can do this: Learn to identify the forms and dynamics of overconformity among athletes Raise critical questions about the meaning, organization, and purpose of sports Create norms in sports that discourage over conformity to the sport ethic Help athletes to learn to strike a balance between accepting and questioning rules and norms in their sports


Research on Deviance Among Athletes: Research on Deviance Among Athletes On the Field Deviance Cheating, dirty play, fighting, andamp; violence are less common today than in the past This historical finding contradicts popular perceptions. Many people think that athletes are more deviant today because there are more rules than ever before, and expectations for conformity are greater.


Research on Deviance Among Athletes: Research on Deviance Among Athletes Off the Field Deviance Athletes do not have higher delinquency rates than similar peers who do not play sports Data on academic cheating is inconclusive Athletes older than 18 have higher rates of alcohol use and binge drinking than similar peers Felony rates among adult athletes do not seem to be out of control, but they are a problem


Research suggests that playing organized sports might discourage deviance when they emphasize:: Research suggests that playing organized sports might discourage deviance when they emphasize: A philosophy of nonviolence Respect for self and others The importance of Confidence in physical skills A sense of


DON’T FORGET: DON’T FORGET Athletes are not the only ones in sports who engage in deviant behavior. Think of other examples involving: Coaches Administrators Team owners Agents


Using Performance Enhancing Substances in Sports: Using Performance Enhancing Substances in Sports The use of performance enhancing substances occurs regularly in high performance sports Much substance use constitutes a form of deviant overconformity Such substances will be used as long as athletes believe they enhance performance


Slide29: Very few athletes today compete at high levels without taking 'supplements'


Defining and Banning Performance Enhancing Substances: Defining and Banning Performance Enhancing Substances Defining a 'performance enhancing substance' is difficult Defining what is natural or artificial is difficult Defining what is fair when using science, medicine, and technology in sports is difficult Determining what is dangerous to health is difficult Studying andamp; testing for substances is constrained by ethical and legal factors


Why Is Substance Use So Prevalent Today? (1-5): Why Is Substance Use So Prevalent Today? (1-5) The high stakes in sports have fueled research and development of substances Fascination with the use of technology to push human limits The rationalization of the body Heavy emphasis on self-medication Changing gender relations (continued)


Why Is Substance Use So Prevalent Today? (6-8): Why Is Substance Use So Prevalent Today? (6-8) The organization of power and performance sports (must win to continue to play) Coaches, sponsors, administrators, and fans encourage deviant overconformity Athletes’ performances are closely monitored with an emphasis on control over body and conformity to demands of coaches


Arguments for Testing: Arguments for Testing Testing is needed to: Protect the health of athletes Guarantee fairness and a level playing field Protect children who may imitate athletes Maintain normal law enforcement procedures Testing is needed to anticipate and discourage the use of genetic engineering


Arguments Against Testing : Arguments Against Testing Testing should be dropped because it: Is not effective (due to constraints on testers) Violates privacy rights Uses valuable sport resources Is based on norms that cannot be fairly applied to the bodies of all athletes Encourages the use of genetic engineering and untested technologies of performance


Controlling Substance Use: Where to Start (I): Controlling Substance Use: Where to Start (I) Critically examine the hypocrisy in elite sports Establish rules indicating that risks to health are undesirable and unnecessary in sports Establish rules stating that injured athletes must be independently certified as 'well' before they may play Educate young athletes to define courage and discipline in ways that promote health (continued)


Controlling Substance Use: Where to Start (II): Controlling Substance Use: Where to Start (II) Establish a code of ethics for sport scientists Make drug education part of deviance and health education that Creates norms regulating use of technology Critically examines values and norms in sports Redefines meaning of achievement Teaches athletes to think critically Provides accurate and current information to parents, coaches, and athletes