Theorizing the form and impact of sport scandals

Abstract

Sport scandals have attracted significant interest within and beyond the sociology of sport. However, developing a theoretical understanding of sport scandals has so far been neglected. Therefore, the two-fold purpose of this conceptual paper is to outline a theoretical model for understanding the form of a sport scandal, and to construct two typical sport scandals that can assist us in theorizing and differentiating how sport scandals may have varying effects on society. In our work, we rely on insights on form formulated by the German sociologist Niklas Luhmann combined with notions of ideal types derived from Max Weber. Accordingly, scandals are described as examples of paradoxical forms where excluded meaning re-enters to create spaces of temporary liminality. Despite their common characteristics, we are able to construct two ideal types of scandals – bureaucratic fallacy and charismatic failure – to understand why scandals may have varying impacts on the environment.

Whose job is it anyway? A qualitative investigation into the influence of agents, race organisers, and sponsors on the risk of doping in elite distance running

“…These reports depict a sporting culture that makes doping easy and relatively risk free, or even in which it would have been very difficult for a top-level athlete not to dope. The ripples of these major incidents have impacted sport and anti-doping on a global scale (Heiberger et al, 2021;Ohl et al, 2021a;2021b;Read et al, 2020;Wagner & Storm, 2021).…”

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“…Many large-scale governance and integrity scandals have marked the recent history of sports organizations (Wagner and Storm, 2022). In some cases, and under external while the observation of encouraging changes can be a source of discredit.…”

“…Many large-scale governance and integrity scandals have marked the recent history of sports organizations (Wagner and Storm, 2022). In some cases, and under external pressure, this has led Global Sports Organizations (GSOs) to set up regulatory entities, such as the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) (Hanstad et al, 2008).…”