¿Se explota a los deportistas de élite?

Este artículo plantea las siguientes preguntas: ¿Cuáles son los riesgos de salud asociados al deporte de élite? ¿Son mayores de lo que necesariamente deben ser? ¿Están tomando aquellos que tienen responsabilidad moral y/o legal sobre los deportistas todas las medidas razonables para salvaguardar la salud de los deportistas? Muchos estudios realizados en diferentes países muestran que un aspecto importante de la cultura deportiva del deporte profesional o el de élite es el de la ‘cultura del riesgo’, que contempla el dolor, las lesiones y el ‘juego duro’. Los deportistas de élite toman –y se espera que tomen– riesgos importantes para su salud. Este artículo es un estudio sobre el fútbol profesional inglés, en el que se espera que los futbolistas sigan jugando, incluso cuando tienen una lesión y dolor, siempre que sea posible hacerlo. Los jugadores que no pueden jugar por causa de una lesión se valoran como de poca utilidad para el club y pueden quedar marcados, ser ignorados o incluso caer en el ostracismo. Los jugadores lesionados pueden ser sometidos a presiones para volver a jugar antes de estar completamente recuperados de la lesión. Puede que se oculte a los propios jugadores de modo deliberado la naturaleza y el alcance de sus lesiones y, a menudo, se rompen en los clubes de fútbol las normas de confidencialidad médica. La conclusión es que muchos clubes ingleses de fútbol profesional no están tomando las medidas necesarias para conseguir la ‘obligación de cuidar’ a los jugadores que tienen, tanto legal como moralmente

S’explota els esportistes d’elit?

Aquest article planteja les preguntes següents: Quins són els riscos de salut associats a l’esport d’elit? Són superiors als que caldria? Els qui tenen responsabilitat moral i/o legal sobre els esportistes, estan prenent totes les mesures raonables per salvaguardar-ne la salut? Molts estudis realitzats a diferents països mostren que un aspecte important de la cultura esportiva de l’esport professional o el d’elit és el de la ‘cultura del risc’, que contempla el dolor, les lesions i el ‘joc dur’. Els esportistes d’elit assumeixen –i s’espera que n’assumeixin– riscos importants per a la seva salut. Aquest article és un estudi sobre el futbol professional anglès, en el qual tothom espera que els futbolistes continuïn jugant, fins i tot quan tenen una lesió i dolor, sempre que els sigui possible fer-ho. Els jugadors que no poden jugar a causa d’una lesió es valoren com de poca utilitat per al club i poden quedar marcats, ser ignorats o fins i tot caure en l’ostracisme. Els jugadors lesionats poden ser sotmesos a pressions per tornar a jugar abans d’estar completament recuperats de la lesió. Potser s’amagui als mateixos jugadors, de forma deliberada, la naturalesa i l’abast de les seves lesions i, sovint, als clubs de futbol es vulneren les normes de confidencialitat mèdica. La conclusió és que molts clubs anglesos de futbol professional no estan prenent les mesures necessàries per assolir ‘l’obligació de tenir cura’ dels jugadors, una obligació que tenen, tant legalment com moralment

Sporting celebrity and conspicuous consumption: A case study of professional footballers in England

Law, G., Bloyce, D. & Waddington, I., Sporting celebrity and conspicuous consumption: A case study of professional footballers in England, International Review for the Sociology of Sport (Journal Volume Number and Issue Number TBC) pp. xx-xx. Copyright © 2020 SAGE. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.Association football is a lucrative sport with high financial rewards for top players. However, there has been little empirical work on the lifestyles of professional footballers. Based on interviews with 29 current and former male professional footballers, this paper examines the relationship between money, status and image management within and outside the changing room. The concept of conspicuous consumption is used to help explain players’ attitudes to money, their relationships with others within the football environment and how they advertise their earnings in an environment where open discussion of wages is seen as taboo. Our findings suggest that professional footballers are expected to display a particular image of the professional footballer and this constrains players, even those on lower incomes, to buy expensive clothes and accessories in order to be accepted by others. Players who do not conform to the expected image may be subject to sanctions by their teammates

The provision of medical care in English professional football: An update

Objectives - To compare the current methods of appointment, qualifications and occupational experience of club doctors and physiotherapists in English professional football with (i) those outlined in a study published in 1999, and (ii) Football Association (FA) medical regulations. Design - Qualitative. Methods - Postal questionnaire survey of (head) doctors and physiotherapists at each of the clubs in the English Premiership, Championship and Football Leagues 1 and 2. Response rates of 35.8% and 45.6% respectively were obtained. Results - The majority of football club doctors are GPs who have sports medicine qualifications and relevant occupational experience. Time commitments vary from full time to a few hours per week. Most are appointed through personal contacts rather than job advertisements and/or interview. Almost all football clubs have a chartered physiotherapist, many of whom have a postgraduate qualification. They work full time and long hours. Most are appointed through personal contacts rather than job advertisements. They are frequently interviewed but not always by someone qualified to judge their professional expertise. Conclusions - Football club medical provision has become more extensive and increasingly professional over the last 10-–20 years, with better qualified, more career-oriented and more formally contracted staff. It is likely that clinical autonomy has subsequently increased. However recruitment procedures still need to be improved, especially in relation to advertising vacancies, interviewing candidates, and including medical personnel on interview panels. In two aspects clubs appear not to be compliant with current FA medical regulations

The social management of medical ethics in sport: confidentiality in English professional football

This paper examines one of the major ethical challenges in the practice of sports medicine, confidentiality. Drawing on interview and questionnaire data with doctors and physiotherapists working in English professional football clubs, it explores the degree to which ethical compliance has improved since the publication of, and publicity surrounding, an earlier study of medical practice in professional football conducted by Waddington and Roderick. Thus, it provides an updated empirical examination of the management of medical ethics in sport. The data illustrate how the physical and social environmental constraints of sports medicine practice impinge upon the protection of athlete-patient confidentiality, how ethical codes and conflicting obligations converge to shape clinician behaviour in relation to lifestyle and injury issues, and the ethically problematic contractual constraints under which clinicians and athletes operate. It demonstrates that medical ethical practice continues to be very variable and draws on Freidson’s work on medical ‘work settings’ to argue that there is a need to augment existing confidentiality policies with more structurally oriented approaches to ensure both professional autonomy and medical ethical compliance in sport

The social management of medical ethics in sport: confidentiality in English professional football

This paper examines one of the major ethical challenges in the practice of sports medicine, confidentiality. Drawing on interview and questionnaire data with doctors and physiotherapists working in English professional football clubs, it explores the degree to which ethical compliance has improved since the publication of, and publicity surrounding, an earlier study of medical practice in professional football conducted by Waddington and Roderick (2002). Thus, it provides an updated empirical examination of the management of medical ethics in sport. The data illustrate how the physical and social environmental constraints of sports medicine practice impinge upon the protection of athlete-patient confidentiality, how ethical codes and conflicting obligations converge to shape clinician behaviour in relation to lifestyle and injury issues and the ethically problematic contractual constraints under which clinicians and athletes operate. It demonstrates that medical ethical practice continues to be very variable and draws on Freidson’s (1970) work on medical ‘work settings’ to argue that there is a need to augment existing confidentiality policies with more structurally-oriented approaches to ensure both professional autonomy and medical ethical compliance in sport

Using ‘sport in the community schemes’ to tackle crime and drug use among young people: Some policy issues and problems

This is a PDF version of an article published in European physical education review © Sage, 2004. The definitive version is available at www.sagepub.com.This article discusses the effectiveness of sport in the community schemes such as the Positive Futures initative and Summer Splsh/Splash Extra in reducing crime and drug use amongst young people

Novel gene expression responses in the ovine abomasal mucosa to infection with the gastric nematode Teladorsagia circumcincta

Infection of sheep with the gastric nematode Teladorsagia circumcincta results in distinct Th2-type changes in the mucosa, including mucous neck cell and mast cell hyperplasia, eosinophilia, recruitment of IgA/IgE producing cells and neutrophils, altered T-cell subsets and mucosal hypertrophy. To address the protective mechanisms generated in animals on previous exposure to this parasite, gene expression profiling was carried out using samples of abomasal mucosa collected pre- and post- challenge from animals of differing immune status, using an experimental model of T. circumcincta infection. Recently developed ovine cDNA arrays were used to compare the abomasal responses of sheep immunised by trickle infection with worm-naïve sheep, following a single oral challenge of 50 000 T. circumcincta L3. Key changes were validated using qRT-PCR techniques. Immune animals demonstrated highly significant increases in levels of transcripts normally associated with cytotoxicity such as granulysin and granzymes A, B and H, as well as mucous-cell derived transcripts, predominantly calcium-activated chloride channel 1 (CLCA1). Challenge infection also induced up-regulation of transcripts potentially involved in initiating or modulating the immune response, such as heat shock proteins, complement factors and the chemokine CCL2. In contrast, there was marked infection-associated down-regulation of gene expression of members of the gastric lysozyme family. The changes in gene expression levels described here may reflect roles in direct anti-parasitic effects, immuno-modulation or tissue repair. (Funding; DEFRA/SHEFC (VT0102) and the BBSRC (BB/E01867X/1))

Novel gene expression responses in the ovine abomasal mucosa to infection with the gastric nematode Teladorsagia circumcincta

Infection of sheep with the gastric nematode Teladorsagia circumcincta results in distinct Th2-type changes in the mucosa, including mucous neck cell and mast cell hyperplasia, eosinophilia, recruitment of IgA/IgE producing cells and neutrophils, altered T-cell subsets and mucosal hypertrophy. To address the protective mechanisms generated in animals on previous exposure to this parasite, gene expression profiling was carried out using samples of abomasal mucosa collected pre- and post- challenge from animals of differing immune status, using an experimental model of T. circumcincta infection. Recently developed ovine cDNA arrays were used to compare the abomasal responses of sheep immunised by trickle infection with worm-naïve sheep, following a single oral challenge of 50 000 T. circumcincta L3. Key changes were validated using qRT-PCR techniques. Immune animals demonstrated highly significant increases in levels of transcripts normally associated with cytotoxicity such as granulysin and granzymes A, B and H, as well as mucous-cell derived transcripts, predominantly calcium-activated chloride channel 1 (CLCA1). Challenge infection also induced up-regulation of transcripts potentially involved in initiating or modulating the immune response, such as heat shock proteins, complement factors and the chemokine CCL2. In contrast, there was marked infection-associated down-regulation of gene expression of members of the gastric lysozyme family. The changes in gene expression levels described here may reflect roles in direct anti-parasitic effects, immuno-modulation or tissue repair. (Funding; DEFRA/SHEFC (VT0102) and the BBSRC (BB/E01867X/1))