Ethics and Deviance

Ethics

rules that dictate an individual’s conduct - forms a system of rules that groups and societies are judged on

Deviance

describes unacceptable behaviour within a culture - may not be illegal but deviates from the societal or legal norm

Blood Doping

• Remove around 2 pints of blood a few weeks before the competition and freeze it

• 1-2 days before the competition thaw the blood and re-inject it into the athlete

• It boosts RBC levels, increasing O2 transport

• Can thicken blood and cause clots and even heart attacks

• Marathon runners

Anabolic steroids

• allows athletes to train harder and for longer

  • Increases testosterone levels

  • Liver damage, heart attacks, aggression, increased risk of certain cancers

  • Weight lifters

Beta blockers

• increases alertness

  • makes the heart beat faster so more oxygen can go to the working muscles and brain

  • High blood pressure, dehydration, heart attack, stroke

• helps controls HR to calm the athlete

  • Bradycardia, low blood pressure, insomnia, nausea

  • Darts player

Stimulants

• increases alertness

  • makes the heart beat faster so more oxygen can go to the working muscles and brain

  • High blood pressure, dehydration, heart attack, stroke

Other drugs

• Narcotic analgesics - treat/ mask pain

• Anabolic agents - allows athletes to train harder and for longer

• Diuretics - increases the amount of water expelled from the body

• Masking agents - treat/ mask pain

Peptide hormones - increase muscle mass and decrease body mass

Advantages of legal supplements

• improve general health and well-being

• hydration

• aid recovery

• increase stamina

• build muscle

• increase flexibility

• provide energy

Disadvantages of legal supplements

• can contain banned substances

• can be contaminated during manufacturing

• can still cause long term health issues - CV, muscular, cancer

• philosophical argument - not fair play

Why does doping occur

• Pressure to succeed

  • family

  • friends

  • fans

  • sponsors

• Coaches

  • under pressure themselves so may influence their players

• Political pressure

  • high pressure expectations due to an athlete’s background

  • seen as more acceptable in some countries

• High monetary reward

• To make competitions fair

  • people believe they need to use PEDs to make the competition fair

Consequences of doping - sporting

• The sport’s morals are challenged

• Some sports can then struggle to gain sponsorship and viewers

• More cheating

• Withdrawn funding

Consequences of doping - performer

• Lack of trust

• Difficult to gain sponsors

• Dangers to health and well-being

• Lose medals

• Disqualification

Consequences of doping - societal

• Sport reflects society

• Society may be seen as corrupt

• Athletes who dope have to keep up to date with testing technology

Strategies to stop doping

• WADA assist countries’ own anti-doping programs

• Drug testing can happen at any time - in and outside of competitions

• Provide more education on the risks of doping

• Create harsher penalties

Violence

intense physical force that is directed towards harming another individual or group of individuals, and can cause injury or death

Causes of violence

• The desire to win

• Nature of the event

• Alcohol and drugs

• Rivalries

• Media

• Deindividualisation - lose sense of being an individual so think you won’t be affected by your actions

• High arousal levels

• Frustration - perceived poor officiating

Implications of violence

• Increased violence in society - social learning/ role models

• Can prevent parents letting children participate

• Can cause violence among spectators

Preventing violence

• Educate the performer

• Harsher penalties - athletes and spectators

• Laws against violence

• Effective officiating

• Promote assertion not aggression

• More sophisticated policing methods - CCTV

• Promote friendship between rival teams - play friendlies

Gambling in sport

• Legal in some countries but not all (legal in UK but illegal in Qatar)

• Global business

• Many people gamble for the excitement not the money

• Can cause addictions - Matthew Etherington the EX. West Ham footballer

• Players, managers, and employees are often banned from gambling - prevent match fixing and spot fixing

• In Horse Racing, jockeys are banned from betting and trainers can only bet on their horse - reduce match fixing

Spot fixing

• A specific moment in the game is pre-determined, then bet upon

  • A footballer bets that they will miss a penalty and so purposefully misses the penalty

Match fixing

• A result is pre-determined or partially pre-determined and athletes then play to those results

  • A footballer bets that their team will lose a match and so purposefully misses a penalty

  • Italian football scandal in 2006

  • Chris Cairns in cricket

Benefits of gambling

• provides additional excitement

• chance of financial gain

• fund sports teams through sponsors

Negatives of gambling

• opportunities for illegal activity

• can cause financial loss

• can cause addictions

• can cause athletes to be corrupt