Crime in the tropics: Is sport part of the solution, or part of the problem?

Sport is recognised as having an important positive social function with positive social returns on investment. However, the status of sport as a positive social force is under threat. While the use of banned performance and image enhancing drugs (doping) is currently the most visible threat to the integrity of sport, other concerns such as match-fixing, violence (on and off the field), sexual assault and multiple forms of discrimination, are also emerging as potential threats. The study will involve surveying the attitudes and opinions of a broadly representative sample of North Queensland athletes (n=600) and support personnel (coaches, doctors etc., n=100) about the positive and negative impact of sport on a range of social and health related issues. Questions will be structured to assess both awareness and perceptions at local (Tropical NQ), state (QLD) and national (Australian) levels

Crime and misconduct in sport

The global pandemic of 2020 brought about the suspension of almost all sporting activity. From grassroots sport through to elite competitions, the sporting world effectively ended. At the time of writing (early May 2020), there are tentative plans to restart some elite competitions, with the German Bundesliga and the Australian National Rugby League both announcing that competitions will recommence shortly. In both cases, the plan is to play games for a television audience only, in near-empty stadiums. In the months and years to come, it is likely that Sport in Society will see considerable debate as to the logistical problems in restarting sporting competition during and after a pandemic. For example, as spectators will not be able to attend matches and so there will be no game-day revenues. The purpose of competing is almost entirely to fulfill contractual obligations to television companies and sponsors, not because of any consideration for fans. It is also likely that the journal will see considerable debate as to the social and ethical problems of recommencing sporting competitions. For example, whilst players will need to be tested for COVID-19 on a regular basis, tests for first responders (medical staff, police, etc.) are currently in short supply

New problems, new challenges: embracing innovative approaches to sport research

Sport research should systematically advance knowledge about the discipline and thus be relevant to both academics and practitioners. Research methods play an important role in advancing knowledge, and continuous efforts to develop and apply new research methods are essential for sport research to capture the complexities of the contemporary sporting landscape (Smith & Stewart, 2010). Important but complex research issues have emerged as sport continues to globalize and further embed itself in the social, cultural and economic fabric of society. In many cases, addressing these research problems challenges research designs and methods in which sport researchers have been trained. However it is clear that when investigating the diverse, complex and changing contemporary field of sport we need to recognize there is no longer a methodology that meets the needs of all sport related research (Hoeber & Shaw, 2017)

Athletes' and coaches' attitudes towards drugs in sport

[Extract] Literature review: Until very recently, research on doping in sport was confined to biological studies aimed at detecting drug use. The potential role of research into the attitudes of potential users was largely ignored (World Anti-Doping Agency, 2003) and has only recently begun to be explored. The noted lack of athlete participation in international antidoping policy development is not unusual. Some would suggest it reflects a lack of athlete participation in decisionmaking processes affecting their lives more generally. Antidoping policy researcher Barrie Houlihan (2004) summarizes the literature on international world-class antidoping policy when he writes that "anti-doping policy is generally made for, or on behalf of, athletes, rarely in consultation with athletes, and almost never in partnership with athletes" (pp. 421-422)

The 'development' of doping: identifying the antecedents of performance enhancing drug use in young athletes

Despite widespread recognition that prevention, rather than detection, remains the best strategy for eliminating banned performance enhancing drug (PED) use in sport, anti-doping research has typically only studied elite adult athletes. This paper examines the behaviours and attitudes of a cohort of 702 elite development athletes (12-17 years of age) with regard to PEDs. It describes the baseline (year 1) data from an ongoing three year longitudinal-sequential study. The broad aim of the research is to identify the factors (namely, morality and coaching environment) that may either foster or inhibit PED use, including both attitudes and actual doping behaviours. Surveys were distributed to secondary school athletes (defined as those competing at state level and above) through three large schools in Queensland, Australia

New problems, new challenges: embracing innovative approaches to sport research

New problems, new challenges: embracing innovative approaches to sport researc

Doping in sport: Whose problem is it?

In the last few years there has been a significant increase in the number and scope of social science research into doping in sport. However, despite this apparent progress, the field remains a disparate body of work and lacks both direction and leadership. Whilst sport management is a discipline that is well suited to provide such leadership, scholarly research into this controversial topic has not been published widely in sport management journals. This special issue redresses this gap by bringing together a range of scholarly articles that represent a variety of perspectives by authors from North America, Europe and Australia. The issues and challenges covered are varied, but each paper brings a common theme: the implications for the management of doping in sport. The six papers in this Special Issue of Sport Management Review are a significant addition to the slowly growing body of sport management scholarly work on doping in sport. It is hoped that future research will be prompted with this Special Issue and the discipline of sport management will recognize and respond to the challenges presented by doping

Research Methodologies for Sport Scholarship

When investigating the diverse, complex and changing contemporary field of sport, we recognize there is no methodology that meets the needs of all sport. Sport researchers should take advantage of innovative approaches from other fields to explore emerging phenomena or innovatively advance scholarly sport research approaches. For example, technology, globalization and commercialization may be the principal trends, but they are not the only trends, Sport researchers have the opportunity to study other trends, including the modernization of sport organizations, changing governance practices, regulatory changes, innovation, merchandising, media and broadcasting technologies, socio demographic influences (i.e. aging populations, change in employment patterns, increasing diversity), sport for development, physical activity and sport participation changes. As such, this book introduces innovative research methods and approaches can be applied to the sport discipline

Sidelined: employment relations in professional sports

Sidelined: employment relations in professional sport

The final frontier of anti-doping: a study of athletes who have committed doping violations

Although the use of banned drugs in sport is not a new phenomenon, little is known about the experiences and perceptions of athletes who have committed anti-doping rule violations. This study qualitatively explored the experiences of 18 athletes (from the sports of bodybuilding, powerlifting, cricket, sprint kayak, rugby league, and swimming) who had committed anti-doping violations. Themes explored included motivations for initiating and maintaining doping, the psychology of doping, deterrents to doping, and views on current anti-doping policy. In most cases doping had started early in their careers. The perceived culture of the sport was considered central to the ‘normalization’ of doping, particularly in bodybuilding. When explaining their decision to dope, athletes engaged in processes or moral disengagement (including advantageous comparison, minimizing consequences and diffusion of responsibility). Ironically, moral arguments were perceived as the most effective deterrents to doping. Findings are discussed in relation to the difficulties in establishing credible deterrents and suggestions for the future development of anti-doping policy