Deviant Athlete
...of as an institution that "builds character." While there can be an endless number of arguments for or against this belief that sports are a positive influence on those who participate in them, it is clear that there are many negative components of sports in our modern society. It sometimes seems that more is written or said in reporting about drugs, gambling, fines, penalties, suspensions, explosive violence, or the arrests of athletes than about win/loss records, achieving goals, scoring statistics, or the pursuit of championships. While most sports fans would like to see close games and highlights of amazing slam dunks or home runs, it is easy to lose focus on the character building aspects of the institution of sports when all that we see and hear on ESPN or read in Sports Illustrated is clouded by the deviant behavior of the modern athlete.
If social deviance can be defined as "behavior that breaks the rules or violates the norms of a group, organization, community, or society" (Frey 1996), then it is obvious that the rule-¬bound structure of sports, whether at the amateur, collegiate, or professional level, is like most other institutions in that it provides a line that determines behavior as either acceptable or deviant. However, within the institution of sports, there seems to be a much higher level of deviant behavior compared to most other institutions. So what are the reasons for the unusual propensity toward deviant behavior within sports? As with any sociological question regarding social problems or phenomena, there are numerous answers, depending on which type of theory one chooses to accept. A structural-functionalist approach to the question would suggest that deviant behavior in sports comes as a result of incompatibilities between culturally approved goals and the opportunities given to those who play certain roles in sports, while a...
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