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SOCIOLOGY 259

SOCIOLOGY 259. ATHLETES AND PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUGS THERESA KLACHAN. BEN JOHNSON. Arrived in Canada from poor homeland of Jamaica Scrawny young boy At 15 began working with coach Charlie Francis Willing to follow every instruction his coach and physician gave him

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SOCIOLOGY 259

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  1. SOCIOLOGY 259 ATHLETES AND PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUGS THERESA KLACHAN

  2. BEN JOHNSON • Arrived in Canada from poor homeland of Jamaica • Scrawny young boy • At 15 began working with coach Charlie Francis • Willing to follow every instruction his coach and physician gave him • Used AAS for over 8 years and never caught • Knew he and Carl Lewis would probably compete in the fastest 100-metre in history • Stood to earn an estimated $30 million in endorsements, appearance fees, fame and a better way of life if he was not caught • 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, Ben Johnson tested positive for anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) stanozolol

  3. According to many athletes, the only thing that separated Ben Johnson from a great number of others who competed in Seoul is that he got caught.

  4. DOPING The use of any substance (natural or synthetic) taken into the body by any route – by mouth, injected, instilled, inhaled or inserted – for non-therapeutic reasons to enhance performance. • Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) • Human growth hormone (hGH) • Blood transfusions • Brake drugs

  5. HISTORY • 1865 – canal swimmers and cyclists speedball – mixture of heroin and cocaine • End of 19th Century – prizefighters alcohol and strychnine • 1886 – 1st recorded drug-related death English cyclist – overdose of trimethyl • 1952 Olympic Winter Games, Oslo, Norway 1st notable amphetamine-related doping cases Several speed skaters became ill • 1950’s – anabolic-androgenic steroids were thrust on the sports scene • Taking pills to enhance performance was not considered unethical or illegal in the 1950’s and 1960’s • Olympic drug testing began in 1968 • IOC banned AAS prior to the 1976 Montreal Olympics • Drug testing and detection became effective in 1983 – Pam Am Games, Caracas

  6. DRUG TESTING Process to detect synthetic testosterone. (urine sample) Ratio between testosterone and epitestosterone Normal Ratio – 1:1 IOC Medical Commission – 6:1 ratio is allowed This allows 5.9 times the natural level without fear of breaking standards.

  7. SOME SIDE EFFECTS • Premature baldness • Prostate enlargement in males • Cystic acne • Breast development in males • Excessive body and facial hair growth in women • Aggressiveness and feelings of indestructibility and power “roid rage”

  8. INVOLVEMENT IN DOPING • ATHLETES • COACHES • TRAINERS • PHYSICIANS • NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS • TV NETWORKS AND SPONSORS • FANS • BLACK MARKET DRUG SUPPLIERS

  9. EXPLANATIONS FOR DOPING • Drugs create power, mass and endurance • Shortcuts to victory – competitive edge using performance enhancing drugs • Look better, feel more confident, increased sex drive • Desire to succeed, be competitive and win is instilled in the minds of young people • National commitment and individual incentive – Example: Socialist sports hero • An incredible desire to succeed and the perceived impossibility of reaching a goal through normal natural means • Athletes feel they need to use drugs to stay even with everyone else, low chance of getting caught, better life • National Associations – prestige victory brings to their program, reluctant to endorse aggressive drug testing programs - need world-class performance to keep their business rolling, depend on international competitions (Pepsi Classic) as major part of fundraising • Officials – shield offenders • Physicians – because it isn’t illegal, basis for meeting athlete’s demands was established, athletes were going to take it anyway • TV Networks, Sponsors and Fans – people don’t pay to watch losers, corporations don’t sponsor teams that can’t bring home gold • AAS sales on black market are estimated to be a $200 million business

  10. BEATING THE SYSTEM • Catheterization – insert bogus urine into bladder • Female athletes insert condoms with clean urine into vagina • Male athletes put plastic bags with clean urine under armpits with tube leading to penis • Drink copious amounts of water • Take diuretics to dilute urine • Scoop toilet bowl water • Steroid gurus – experienced drug users teach various tricks to avoid detection • Ineffective drug testing: “advance-notice drug testing” – athletes know when they will be tested and know how to clean drugs from their bodies in order to pass the tests • Accidental drug use – permitted one one-time-only basis The athletes might be able to use this pardon to help them cheat with full understanding they would be let off the hook Science of avoiding drug detection is as sophisticated as the science of drug testing New drug testing – new methods of avoiding evolved New designer steroid – THG – work being done to detect THG

  11. EXPLANATION OF DEVIANCE “Magical Immunity Belief” • Criminals don’t think they’ll be caught. “Economic Theory” • A market for offence opportunities exists, just as a market for legitimate ones. • Cost-Benefit Ratio Potential Costs – risks, difficulty, lost opportunities, expenses, time Potential Benefits – material emotional Likelihood of detection and punishment changes balance of ledger. “Rational Choice Theory” • Decision diagrams – tracing path of offender’s reasoning in each situation or context • Deviance occurs when, after considering situational factors, the individual decides that the expected cost of violating the rules is outweighed by the expected gain

  12. EXPLANATION OF DEVIANCE “Classical Strain Theory” • Robert Merton – “deviance is a form of adaptation to the strain that exists between culturally prescribed aspirations and socially structured avenues for realizing these aspirations”

  13. EXPLANATION OF DEVIANCE “American Dream” Messner and Rosenfeld’s Strain Theory • goal of material success to be pursued by everyone • Emphasis is on seeking the most efficient way to achieve economic success, crime is often seen as the most efficient way to make immediate monetary gain • The more likely the logic of the economy (competitive, individualistic and materialistic) – a powerful social force will motivate the pursuit of money by any means necessary

  14. Positive Function of Deviance Negative Function of Deviance

  15. Number of elite athletes were asked: Would they be willing to take a special pill that would guarantee them an Olympic gold medal even if they knew this pill would kill them within a year. 50% of the athletes surveyed said YES

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