Jules Woolf

Would they dope? Revisiting the Goldman dilemma

Background/aim Discussions of doping often report Goldmans sensational results that half of the elite athletes asked would take a drug that guaranteed sporting success which would also result in their death in 5 years’ time. There has never been any effort to assess the properties of the ‘Goldman dilemma’ or replicate the results in the post World Anti-Doping Agency context. This research evaluated the dilemma with contemporary elite athletes. Methods Participants at an elite-level track and field meet in North America were segregated into an interview or online response. After basic demographics, participants were presented with three variant ‘Goldman’ dilemmas counter-balanced for presentation order. Results Only 2 out of 212 samples (119 men, 93 women, mean age 20.89) reported that they would take the Faustian bargain offered by the original Goldman dilemma. However, if there were no consequences to the (illegal) drug use, then 25/212 indicated that they would take the substance (no death condition). Legality also changes the acceptance rate to 13/212 even with death as a consequence. Regression modelling showed that no other variable was significant (gender, competitive level, type of sport) and there was no statistical difference between the interview and online collection method. Conclusions Goldmans results do not match our sample. A subset of athletes is willing to dope and another subset is willing to sacrifice their life to achieve success, although to a much lesser degree than that observed by Goldman. A larger scale online survey is now viable to answer important questions such as variation across sports.

Androgenic anabolic steroid policy and high school sports: results from a policy Delphi study

In this article, androgenic anabolic steroid policy targeted at American high school sports is investigated. In recent years several states have instituted androgenic anabolic steroid testing of high school athletes. These programmes have produced few positive tests and subsequently have been heavily criticized. A heterogeneous panel of sixteen experts was invited to debate the issue of steroid use among high school athletes using a policy Delphi method. The panel included executive managers from anti-doping organizations, academic researchers and advocates for steroid legalization. Panellists communicated their response to three rounds of questionnaires via e-mail. The dominant view expressed by the panel is that steroid use among high school athletes is likely underestimated and will increase in the future. Of concern were the quality of steroids consumed and the unintended consumption of steroids via tainted supplements. The panel was in near unanimous agreement that steroid abuse at this level needs to be addressed. However, the panel was divided on the ways in which doping policy should be implemented at the high school level. A small majority favoured the inclusion of drug testing of athletes. Those in favour of drug testing believed that educational efforts, while necessary, are insufficient to address this issue. Panellists stated that educational initiatives should be presented using a balanced approach that covers the positive and negative effects of steroids. Moreover, educational programmes need to emphasize alternative approaches to performance enhancement and include a moral education component. These issues were explored and the implications for policy discussed.

The Goldman Dilemma is dead: what elite athletes really think about doping, winning, and death

ABSTRACT In the 1980s and 1990s, Goldman’s eponymous ‘Dilemma’ asked if athletes would take a substance that guaranteed sporting glory but killed them in 5 years. The 50% acceptance rate was widely reported as evidence supporting the need for anti-doping policy. Evidence from athletes surveyed in 2011 showed only 1% acceptance. To explore why such striking variation exists, and its implications for policy, this study investigated both the validity and reliability of the original Dilemma and how early twenty-first century elite athletes interpret and understand the Dilemma. The reporting of the original Dilemma demonstrated a lack of scientific rigour, which raises questions about the Dilemma’s status as valid and reliable evidence to inform sports drug control policy. Cognitive interviews with a sample of 30 athletes (30 athletes; 14 female; 19 international; age 22.17 ± 2.13) revealed the death outcome made the Dilemma implausible; it was too absolute an outcome given athletes’ non-sporting aspirations (e.g. marriage and parenthood). The idea that a substance could be undetectable and guarantee sporting success was also considered implausible. Athlete conflation of performance enhancement with illegality, immorality and negative health outcomes further undermined perceived plausibility. Thus, the athletes in the sample considered the Dilemma largely implausible. As a consequence of the questionable scientific basis of the original, and the implausibility of the Dilemma to early twenty-first century athletes, the oft-cited 50% acceptance rate is of historical interest only and no longer relevant to drug control policy debate in sport.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Managing Drugs in Sport

ABSTRACT As concerns over drug management in sport (from tobacco to supplements to doping) become more prominent, discussion of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) implications of how sport manages its relationship with drugs has been a striking omission from the literature. Analysis using Dahlsruds five dimensions (stakeholders, social, economic, voluntariness and environmental) demonstrates the potential of developing CSR scholarship with regard to drugs in sport. Three conclusions are drawn from the analysis. First, application of CSR theory and methods can lead to new insights about the management of drugs in sport. Second, research on CSR in sport needs to engage with issues that threaten rather than promote sport, such as drugs, discrimination, exploitation and violence. Third, the management of drugs in sport has potential as a test for theory and methods of CSR, especially comparative studies. The conclusions indicate linking CSR and drugs in sport makes potentially valuable contributions to the field.

How athletes conceptualise doping, winning, and consequences: insights from using the cognitive interviewing technique with the Goldman dilemma

Abstract Theorising on athlete doping has tended to focus on the creation of deductive models. Such models make assumptions on the ways in which athletes conceptualise issues surrounding doping. This is problematic if reality does not match these postulations. While efforts have been made to understand athletes’ perspectives on and attitudes towards doping via qualitative research design, there has been little attempt to inductively develop theory on athlete doping. In this study, this deficiency is addressed using the cognitive interviewing technique to understand how athletes conceptualise doping. Cognitive interviewing is typically used to assess question comprehension. However, we used it as a means to dissect how athletes’ conceptualise of doping by applying it to variants of a popular thought experiment – the Goldman dilemma. Thirty highly competitive athletes participated in the study and a rich data-set was obtained where athletes described their thoughts and interpretations of doping and related issues. The findings yielded a web of relationship that provides a nuanced account of doping that departs from standard deductive models. The model presented offers a more dynamical account for how athletes think about doping, which has direct implications for anti-doping policy-makers. The outcomes of the study demonstrate the effectiveness of cognitive interviewing as a method that enables inductive theory development on a complex and controversial sport issue.

Social identity and athlete identity among CrossFit members: an exploratory study on the CrossFit Open

ABSTRACT The exercise regime CrossFit is known for the strong community among members. Furthermore, CrossFit has positioned itself as a sport and labelled participants as athletes. CrossFit’s strong community and positioning strategy should have implications on members’ identity. Research on CrossFit is incipient and none has examined it from an identity perspective. This study therefore explored CrossFit participants’ social identity and athletic identity before and after members participated in CrossFit’s annual competition, the CrossFit Open. Thirty-four participants were recruited into a pre–post quasi-experimental design study. Social identity was high among members, athlete identity was modest and both measures were stable over time. Further analysis suggests that while some may identify as athletes, others do not. Thus by positioning CrossFit as a sport, divisions may be unintentionally created around role identity. This could have negative implications because if hierarchies develop, individual’s social identity may be challenged, which may ultimately harm the community.