Sport and the anti-doping debate

Doping and deviance

Common sense and alternative understandings: testing the arguments

Anti-doping policy and disciplinary society and doping in the sport media

A short history of football

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Doping and Deviance

Sociology connects criminal activity to the social environment

RulesNormsCodes

ViolationWhat are the

?

Approaches to Deviance

The Chicago School

‘social disorganization’

lack of moral codes created by sudden social change

Merton (1957) ‘anomie’ lack of

opportunitiesdeviants are

victims

Approaches to Deviance

Foucault (1977)deviant

behaviour defines the norm

Young, (1977), Cohen, (1979)

“deviant to whom?” , “deviant from what?”

Doping as deviance: is there a problem?

• An estimated 42,000 steroid users in the UK

• 44% of professional North American baseball players

• Ongoing ‘Tour de France’ doping scandals

‘You’d have to be an imbecile or a hypocrite to imagine that a professional cyclist who rides 235 days a year can hold himself together without stimulants.’ Barnes, J. (2000)

“The World Anti-Doping Agency reported that more than 100 potential Olympians were stopped from competing at the Games because of doping, and the International Olympic Committee announced a number of positive tests during the course of the Games. This is good news for clean athletes around the world”

Case study: What is our common sense understanding of doping?

“Steroids would have made a gold taste bittersweet - Chambers”

The GuardianMonday, October 13 2008

“Dwain Chambers missed out on the Beijing Olympics after his lifetime ban was upheld by the BOA in August.”

Athlete vs. Institution

Doping as unhealthy

Doping as cheating

Doping as rare

Doping as simple

Is there an alternative reading?

Doping as part of elite sporting culture?

Competitive athletes perceptions:

“It is a common secret. I suppose the majority use. Their performances show that.” (Interview No.4)

“Of course [my coach knows I’m using]. Who do you think is doing the injections?” (Interview No.14)

Coach involvement

“Of course, we are working together. We are both trying to use them properly in order to achieve the best results and avoid health side effects. I would never use something without his guidance.” (Interview No.1) 

Doping as a normalised practice

“They (doping tests) are for lying to the people. We are not the real cheaters. Almost everybody is using at a higher level. But trying to present a false image to the society is cheating.” (Interview No.3)

Drugs and the culture of sport

Sport cannot be separated from society

Coach-athlete relationship

Pressures to succeed

The Networked Athlete

The paradox of doping

Citius, Altius, Fortius

Sporting institution wants records but bans means to get them

Anti-doping policy => punishment of the (athlete) offender

Responsibilities of the institution obscured

Testing the arguments

Doping is not fair

Is sport fair?

Doping is unnatural

Are sporting bodies

natural bodies?

Anti-Doping Policy

In what way does anti-doping policy illustrate Foucault’s ideas about disciplinary society?

SurveillanceSmall, regular

punishmentsInternalising the

gazeDocile bodies

WADA Anti-Doping Code

Anti-Doping rulesProhibited list

TestingHearingAppeal

World Anti-Doping Agency

WADA- ADAMS

ADAMS videoAnti-Doping Administration & Management System is a web-based

database management systemAthlete has a personalised online profile

Individualisation of responsibility

Monitoring the athlete

Disciplining the athlete

Contradictions of anti-doping policy

Two apparent themes:

moral argument

protection of athletes’ health

Safest substance vs most difficult to detect

High risks from legitimate substances and techniques

Ignores most “at risk” groups such as bodybuilders

Doping and the media

What role does the media play in the doping debate?

Agenda building

Doping is complex but…

Doping policy ignores this complexityand has gained

global acceptance as the only reality

Why do we accept this simplistic message?

Athens 2004

“Black shadow over the

celebration:

Night of mystery with Kenderis and

Thanou - and doping in the background”

Thebe

“The triumph

took away the sadness:

Unrepeatable ceremony –

Tributes from the

international mass media”

Doping in the sport media

IndividualisationSpectacularisation

Confusion/suspicionDramatisation

Lack of evidence/explanationLack of clarity – gaps in knowledgeSilences alternative perspectives

Doping Policy and the Media

Anti-Doping policy frames a

complex phenomenon

as simple

Punishment oriented

Justifies – excessive

surveillance and control of athletes

– harsh career-ending penalties

Complexities and contradictions are obscured by repeated simplistic media message

IS IT TIME FOR DOPING TO BE PERMITTED IN SPORT?

A short history of football

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3

4

Understood sociological approaches to doping and

devianceExplored and tested the

arguments surrounding doping in sport

Considered WADA and anti-doping policy in the light of

Foucault’s concepts of discipline and surveillance

Reflected on the media’s role in shaping the policy agenda for

doping