Transcript Sport in Society: Issues & Controversies

SPORTS IN SOCIETY:
ISSUES & CONTROVERSIES IN
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND
CHAPTER 6
DEVIANCE IN SPORTS:
Is It Out of Control?
Copyright  2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6 -1
Problems Faced When Studying
Deviance in Sports
1. Forms & causes of deviance are diverse, and no
single theory can explain them.
2. Actions accepted in sports may be deviant in other
social situations.
3. Deviance in sports often involves unquestioned
acceptance of norms rather than a rejection of norms.
4. Training & performance have become medicalised.
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PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6-2
Using Functionalist Theory to
Define Deviance
• Deviance involves a rejection of accepted goals or
the means of achieving goals in society.
• Conformity is equated with morality.
• Deviance is caused by faulty socialisation or
inconsistencies in the social system.
• Deviance is controlled by getting tough and
enforcing more rules more strictly.
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PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6-3
Using Conflict Theory
to Define Deviance
• Deviance involves actions that interfere with the
interests of those with economic power.
• The actions of those who lack power are more likely
to be labelled as deviant.
• Those who deviate often are victims of exploitation in
a system characterised by inequalities.
• The problem of deviance will be minimal when power
is equally distributed in society.
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PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6-4
Using Interactionist & Critical
Theories to Define Deviance
• Most deviance in sports is not due to the moral
bankruptcy of athletes or process of economic
exploitation.
• Much deviance in sports involves over conformity to
established norms in sports.
• Sport deviance must be understood in terms of the
normative context of sport cultures and the emphasis
on “the sport ethic”.
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PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6-5
Figure 6-2
Deviance may involve underconformity or overconformity
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PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6-6
The Sport Ethic
A set of norms that many people in power and
performance sports accept and reaffirm as the
dominant criteria for defining what it means, in
their social worlds, to be a sports competitor
and to successfully claim an identity as a
sports competitor.
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PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6-7
The Norms of the Sport Ethic
A sports competitor:
• makes sacrifices for “the game”
• strives for distinction
• accepts risks and play through pain
• accepts no limits in the pursuit of possibilities
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PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6-8
Why Do Competitors Engage in
Deviant Overconformity?
A. Sports are so exhilarating and thrilling that
competitors will do almost anything to continue to do
so.
B. Being selected to play sports is more likely when
participants over conform to the sport ethic.
C. Exceeding normative limits creates excitement and
bonds between participants.
Copyright  2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6-9
Competitors Most Likely to
Overconform to the Sport Ethic
A. Competitors with low self-esteem and
strong needs to be accepted by peers in a
sport.
B. Competitors who see achievements in
sport as their only way to get ahead, make
themselves a name, and become
important in the world.
Copyright  2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6-10
Deviant Overconformity
and Group Dynamics
Following the Norms of the Sport Ethic
Special Bonds Among Competitors
Hubris
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Social Processes in Elite
Power & Performance Sports
• Bond competitors in ways that normalise
overconformity to the sport ethic.
• Separate competitors from the rest of the community
while inspiring awe and admiration among community
members.
• Lead competitors to develop HUBRIS – that is, a sense
of arrogance, separateness, and superiority.
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PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6-12
Hypotheses About Deviance
Among Sport Participants
Deviance becomes more likely when:
1. Social bonds normalise risk taking.
2. Competitors are separated from the rest of the
community.
3. Participants develop extreme degrees of hubris.
4. When people in the community see competitors as
being special because they engage in extreme
behaviours.
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PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6-13
Controlling Deviant
Overconformity in Sports
• Learn to identify the forms and dynamics of
overconformity among competitors.
• Raise critical questions about the meaning,
organisation, and purpose of sports.
• Create norms in sports that discourage over conformity
to the sport ethic.
• Help participants to learn to strike a balance between
accepting and questioning rules and norms in their
sports.
Copyright  2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6-14
Research on Deviance
Among Competitors
On the Field Deviance
• Cheating, dirty play, fighting, & violence are less
common today than in the past.
This historical finding contradicts popular perceptions.
Many people think deviance is more common today
because there are more rules than ever before, and
expectations for conformity are greater.
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PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6-15
Research on Deviance
Among Sports Competitors
•
•
•
•
Off the Field Deviance
Competitors do not have higher delinquency rates
than those who do not play sports.
Data on academic cheating is inconclusive.
Competitors have higher rates of alcohol use &
binge drinking.
Felony rates among adult athletes do not seem to
be out of control, but they do constitute a problem
(see Ch. 7).
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PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6-16
Is Sport Participation
a Cure for Deviant Behaviour?
Research suggests that playing organised sports
might discourage deviance when they
emphasise:
1. A philosophy of nonviolence
2. Respect for self and others
3. The importance of fitness and control over self
4. Confidence in physical skills
5. A sense of responsibility
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PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6-17
DON’T FORGET
Competitors are not the only ones in sports who
engage in deviant behaviour. Think of other
examples involving:
 Coaches
 Administrators
 Team managers and owners
 Agents
• Testing is justified because drug users affect the
lives of others
 Parents
 Spectators
Copyright  2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6-18
Using Performance Enhancing
Substances in Sports
 The use of performance enhancing substances
occurs regularly in high performance sports.
 Many cases of usage constitute a form of deviant
overconformity.
 Such substances will be used as long as
competitors believe they will enhance performance.
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6-19
Defining and Banning Performance
Enhancing Substances
• Defining what constitutes a “performance enhancing
substance” is difficult.
• Defining what is natural or artificial is difficult.
• Defining what is fair when it comes to the use of
science, medicine, & technology in sports is difficult.
• Determining what is dangerous to health is difficult.
• Studying and testing for substances is constrained by
ethical and legal factors.
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6-20
Why Is Substance Use
So Prevalent Today? (1-5)
1. The high stakes in sports have fuelled research and
development of substances.
2. Fascination with the use of technology to push human
limits.
3. The rationalisation of the body.
4. Heavy emphasis on self-medication.
5. Changing gender relations.
(continued)
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Why Is Substance Use
So Prevalent Today? (6-8)
6. The organisation of power and performance sports
(must win to continue to play).
7. Coaches, sponsors, administrators, and fans
clearly encourage most forms of deviant
overconformity.
8. Competitors’ performances are closely monitored
with an emphasis on control over body and
conformity to demands of coaches.
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PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6-22
Arguments Against Testing
• Competitors and substance manufacturers can
stay one step ahead of the testers.
• Mandatory testing, testing without cause, and using
blood and tissue violates privacy rights.
• Tests are expensive and drain resources in sport
organisations.
• Tests are ineffective for synthetic versions naturally
produced substances.
• Drug tests will push more competitors toward
genetic engineering.
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6-23
Arguments for Testing
• Testing is needed to protect participants’ health.
• Testing is need to guarantee fairness and a level
playing field.
• Testing is a part of normal law enforcement
because drug use is illegal in many cases.
• Testing is needed to anticipate and discourage
the use of genetic engineering.
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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 competitors must
be independently certified as “well” before they may
play
• Educate young competitors to define courage and
discipline in ways that promote health
(continued)d)
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PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6-25
Controlling Substance Use:
Where to Start (II)
• Establish a code of ethics for sport scientists
• Make drug education part of deviance and
health education
 Create norms regulating use of technology
 Critically examine values and norms in sports
 Redefine meaning of achievement
 Teach competitors to think critically
 Provide accurate and current information to
parents, coaches, and competitors
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PPTs t/a Sports in Society by Coakley
6-26