Towards a sociological approach to doping and its regulation: overcoming the metaphor of the rotten apples

Journal title SOCIOLOGIA DEL DIRITTO
Author/s Rosalba Altopiedi, Daniele Scarscelli
Publishing Year 2015 Issue 2014/2
Language Italian Pages 34 P. 137-165 File size 193 KB
DOI 10.3280/SD2014-002006
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Doping is a social phenomenon that looms large in public discourse periodically, whenever an internationally ranking athlete (a champion") is discovered to have been involved in the practice. Doping is roundly condemned for constituting a social problem, since it harms the health of those who make use of it and derails the loyalty of competition between athletes, so violating the "spirit of sport". The orientation typical of this condemnation and the blame that accompanies the public discourse is often based on a social representation of doping as a phenomenon that is primarily restricted to a "handful of rotten apples". In actual fact, however, sociological literature in the last two decades has furnished ample empirical evidence that enables us to state that doping is not concerned with just that "handful of rotten apples", but is a social phenomenon that has spread from élite to amateur sports, as well as to the gyms and fitness centres. This article aims to present the various different sociological explanations of doping and to describe the forms of regulation of the phenomenon that have gradually been institutionalised over the years, identifying the models of the phenomenon’s explanation that underlie - often implicitly - the main policies of prevention and control and highlighting certain critical questions posed by these forms of regulation in terms of safeguarding health, rights and civil liberties, as well as of the real effectiveness of controls.

Keywords: Sociology of Sport - Doping - ‘Rotten Apples’ Approach - Prevention - Deterrence

  1. Altopiedi, Rosalba, 2008. “Fatti” di sport. Milano: FrancoAngeli.
  2. Asser Institute, 2002. A (Socio)-Economic Analysis of Doping in Elite Sport. Bruxelles: European Commission. http://ec.europa.eu/sport/library/documents/c2/doc364_en.pdf
  3. Atkinson, Michael, & Kevin Young, 2008. Deviance and Social Control in Sport. Leeds: Human Kinetics.
  4. Bryson, Lois, 1990. Sport, Drugs and the Development of Modern Capitalism. Sporting Traditions, 6, 2: 135 ss.
  5. Becker, Howard, 􀀾1963􀁀1987. Outsiders. Torino: EGA.
  6. Benson, Michael, 2002. Crime and the Life Course. Los Angeles: Roxbury Publishing Company.
  7. Brohm, Jean-Marie, 1978. Sport, a Prison of Measured Time. London: Ink Links Ltd.
  8. Brown, Miller, 2001. Paternalism, Drugs, and the Nature of Sports. In Williams J.Morgan, Klaus V. Meier & Angela J. Schneider (a cura di), Ethics in Sport. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics.
  9. Candini, Raffaele, & Gustavo Savino, 2012. Storie di doping. Modena: Mucchi Editore.
  10. Chananie-Hill, Ruth, Shelly McGrath & Justin Stoll, 2012. Deviant or Normal? Female Bodybuilders’ Account of Social Reactions. Deviant Behavior, 33: 811 ss. DOI: 10.1080/01639625.2011.647592
  11. Coakley, Jay, & Robert Hughes, 1994. Deviance in Sports. In Jay Coakley (a cura di), Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies, St. Louis, Mo: Mosby.
  12. —, & Eric Dunning, 2000. Handbook of Sport Studies. London: Sage.
  13. —, & Elisabeth Pike, 2009. Sports in Society. London: The McGraw-Hill.
  14. Coomber, Ross, 1993. Drugs in Sport: Rhetoric or Pragmatism. International Journal of Drug Policy, 4, 4: 169 ss.
  15. Cohen, Albert, 􀀾1955􀁀1963. Ragazzi delinquenti. Milano: Feltrinelli.
  16. Cohen, Peter, 1990. Drugs as a Social Construct. Amsterdam: Universiteit van Amsterdam. Commissione Europea, 2005. The EU&Sport. Matching Expectations. Bruxelles: http://ec.europa.eu/sport/library/documents/b1/doc322_en.pdf
  17. Conrad, Peter, 2007. The Medicalization of Society. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
  18. —, & Joseph Schneider, 1980. Deviance and Medicalization: From Badness to Sickness. St. Louis: Mosby.
  19. Crabbe, Tim & Tony Blackshaw, 2004. New Perspectives on Sport and Deviance. New York: Routledge.
  20. —, 2000. A sporting chance? Using Sport to Tackle Drug Use and Crime. Drugs, Education, Prevention and Policy, 7, 4: 381 ss. DOI: 10.1080/dep.7.4.381.39
  21. Cressey, Donald, 1954. The Differential Association Theory and Compulsive Crimes. The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science, 45: 29 ss.
  22. Dimeo, Paul, 2007. A History of Drug Use in Sport 1876-1976: Beyond Good and Evil. New York: Routledge.
  23. Donati, Alessandro, 1989. Campioni senza valore. Firenze: Ponte alle Grazie.
  24. —, 2012. Lo sport del doping. Torino: Edizioni Gruppo Abele.
  25. Donnelly, Peter, 2000. Interpretative Approaches to the Sociology of Sport. In Jay Coackley & Eric Dunning (a cura di), Handboook of Sports Studies. London: Sage.
  26. Duff, Cameron, 2003. The Importance of Culture and Context: Rethinking Risk and Risk Management in Young Drug Using Populations. Health Risk & Society, 5, 3: 285 ss. DOI: 10.1080/1369857031000160698
  27. —, 2004. Drug Use as a “Practice of the Self”: Is there Any Place for an “Ethics
  28. of Moderation” in Contemporary Drug Policy?. The International Journal of Drug Policy, 15: 385 ss. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2004.06.01
  29. Durkheim, Emile, 􀀾1895􀁀1996. Le regole del metodo sociologico. Milano: Edizioni di Comunità.
  30. D’Urzo, Francesca, 2012. La dubbia legittimità del sistema del whereabouts system elaborato dal codice WADA. Rivista di diritto e economia dello sport, VIII, 3: 73 ss.
  31. Ehrenberg, Alain, 1999. La fatica di essere se stessi. Torino: Einaudi.
  32. Elias, Norbert, 1986. The Genesis of the Sport as a Sociological Problem. In Norbert Elias & Eric Dunning (a cura di), Quest for Excitement. Oxford: Blackwell.
  33. Elster, John, 􀀾1999􀁀2001. Sensazioni forti. Emozioni, razionalità e dipendenza. Bologna: il Mulino. EMCDDA, 2006. Insights Prevention Substance Abuse. Lisbona.
  34. Evald, Keith, & Robert M. Jiobu, 1985. Explaining Positive Deviance: Becker's Model and the Case of Runners and Bodybuilders. Sociology of Sport Journal, 2, 2: 144 ss.
  35. Evans-Brown, Michael, Rob Dawson & Jim McVeigh, 2008. The Dire Consequences of Doping?. The Lancet, 372: 1544. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61651-7Gladwell,Malcom,2001.DrugstoreAthlete.TheNewYorker,10September:52
  36. Goode, Erich, 1978. Deviant Behaviour: an Interactionist Approach. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
  37. —, 1991. Positive Deviance: a Viable Concept?. Deviant Behavior, 12, 3: 289 ss. DOI: 10.1080/01639625.1991.996788
  38. Guttmann, Allen, 1978. From Ritual to Record. New York: Columbia University Press.
  39. Hard, Matthew, 2010. Caught in the Net: Athletes' Rights and the World Antidoping Agency. Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, 19, 3: 533 ss.
  40. Heckert, Alex, & Druann Maria Heckert, 2002. A New Typology of Deviance Integrating Normative and Reactivist Definitions of Deviance. Deviant Behavior, 23, 5: 449 ss. DOI: 10.1080/01639620232026531
  41. Houlihan, Barrie, 1997. Sport, Policy and Politics. London: Routledge.
  42. —, 1999. Dying to Win: Doping in Sport and the Development of Anti-Doping Policy. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
  43. —, 2004. Civil Rights, Doping Control and the World Anti-doping Code. Sport in Society, 7, 3: 420 ss. DOI: 10.1080/174304200029171
  44. Hughes, Robert, & Jay Coakley, 1991. Positive Deviance among Athletes: the Implications of Overconformity to the Sport Ethic. Sociology of Sport Journal, 8, 4: 307 ss.
  45. Hunt, Thomas, 2007. Sport, Drugs, and the Cold War: The Conundrum of Olympic Doping Policy: 1970-1979. Olympika: The International Journal of Olympic Studies, 16: 19 ss.
  46. Illich, Ivan, 1977. Nemesi medica. L’espropriazione della salute. Tr. it. Milano: Mondadori.
  47. Lupton, Deborah, 2003. Il rischio. Tr. it. Bologna: il Mulino.
  48. Lueschen, Guenter, 1993. Doping in Sport: the Social Structure of a Deviant Subculture. Sport Science Review, 2, 1: 92 ss.
  49. Maturo, Antonio, 2009. I mutevoli confini della medicalizzazione: prospettive e dilemmi del miglioramento umano. Salute e Società, 2: 18 ss. DOI: 10.3280/SES2009-00200
  50. Mazanov, Jason, Twan Huybers & James Connor, 2011. Qualitative Evidence of a Primary Intervention Point for Elite Athlete Doping. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 14, 2: 106 ss. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsams.2010.06.00
  51. Meo, Antonella, 2000. Vite in bilico. Sociologia della reazione a eventi spiazzanti. Napoli: Liguori Editore.
  52. Merton, Robert, 􀀾1949􀁀1992. Teoria e struttura sociale. Tr. it. Bologna: il Mulino.
  53. Mills, Charles Wright, 1940. Situated Action and Vocabularies of Motive. American Sociological Review, 5, 4: 904 ss.
  54. Muir, Kenneth, & Trina Seitz, 2004. Machismo, Misogyny and Homophobia in a Male Athletic Subculture: a Participant-observation Study of Deviant Rituals in Collegiate Rugby. Deviant Behavior, 25, 4: 303 ss.
  55. DOI: 10.1080/01639620490267294.Monaghan,Lee,2002.VocabulariesofMotiveforIllicitSteroidUseamongBodybuilders.SocialScience&Medicine,55,5:695ss.DOI:10.1016/S0277-9536(01)00195-2
  56. Monaghan, Lee, 2001. Bodybuilders, Drugs and Risk. New York: Routledge.
  57. Paoli, Letizia, & Alessandro Donati, 2012. The Trade in Doping Products and the Challenges of Supply Reduction: an Examination of Italy’s Experience. World Anti-doping Agency (WADA).
  58. Pappa, Evdokia, & Eileen Kennedy, 2012. It Was My thought…He Made It a Reality”: Normalization and Responsibility in Athletes’ Account of Performance-enhancing Drug Use. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, published online 30 April 2012, DOI: 10.1177/101269021244211
  59. Porro, Nicola, 2001. Lineamenti di sociologia dello sport. Roma: Carocci.
  60. —, 2008. La sportivizzazione della salute. Salute e Società, 2, 23 ss.
  61. Rhodes, Tim, 1997. Risk Theory in Epidemic Times: Sex, Drugs and the Social Organisation of “Risk Behaviour”. Sociology of Health & Illness, 19, 2: 208 ss. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9566.ep1093441
  62. Rubington, Earl, & Martin S. Weinberg, 1999. Deviance. The Interactionist Perspective. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
  63. Sagarin, Edward, 1985. Positive Deviance: an Oxymoron. Deviant Behavior, 6, 2: 169 ss. DOI: 10.1080/01639625.1985.996766
  64. Scarscelli, Daniele, 2003. Riuscire a smettere. Torino: EGA.
  65. —, 2010. Il consumo di droghe. Roma: Carocci.
  66. Schneider, Angela, & Robert Butcher, 2001. An Ethical Analysis of Drug Testing, 129-152. In Wayne Wilson & Edward Derse (a cura di), Doping in Elite Sport. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics.
  67. Schur, Edwin M., 1965. Crimes without Victims. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
  68. Scott, Marvin B., & Stanford Lyman, 1968, Accounts. American Sociological Review, 33, 1: 46 ss.
  69. Simon, Robert L., 1991. Fair Play: Sports. Values and Society. Boulder. CO: Westview Press.
  70. Sykes, Gresham M., & David Matza, 1957. Techniques of Neutralization: a Theory of Delinquency. American Sociological Review, 22, 6: 664 ss.
  71. Sutherland, Edwin, 1947. Principles of Criminology. Philadelphia: Lippincott.
  72. Szasz, Thomas, 2007. The Medicalization of Everyday life. Selected Essays. Syracuse NY: Syracuse University Press.
  73. Tamburrini, Claudio, 2006. Are Doping Sanctions Justified? A Moral Relativistic View. Sport in Society. Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics, 9, 2: 199 ss. DOI: 10.1080/1743043050049126
  74. Thomas, William I., 1923. The Unadjusted Girl. Boston: Little, Brown.
  75. Tincani, Persio, 2013. Perché l’antiproibizionismo è logico (e morale). Milano: Sironi Editore.
  76. Voet, Willy, 􀀾1949􀁀2002. Massacro alla catena. Rivelazioni su trent’anni di imbrogli.
  77. Torino: Bradipo Libri. Wacquant, Loic, 􀀾2000􀁀2002. Anima e corpo. La fabbrica dei pugili nel ghetto americano. Roma: DeriveApprodi.
  78. Waddigton, Ivan, 2000. Sport, Health and Drugs. A Critical Sociological Perspective.
  79. London: E & FN Spoon.
  80. —, & Andy Smith, 2008. An introduction to drugs in sport. Addicted to winning?. New York: Routledge.
  81. Wagner, UlriK, 2009. The world anti-doping agency: Constructing a hybrid organization in permanent stress (dis)order?. International Journal of Sport Policy, 1, 2: 1ss. DOI: 10.1080/1940694090295072
  82. Zola, Irving K., 1972. Medicine as an Institution of Social Control. The Sociological Review, 20, 4: 487 ss. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-954X.1972.tb00220.

Rosalba Altopiedi, Daniele Scarscelli, Per uno sguardo sociologico al doping e alla sua regolazione: oltre la metafora delle mele marce in "SOCIOLOGIA DEL DIRITTO " 2/2014, pp 137-165, DOI: 10.3280/SD2014-002006