When is a Drug Not a Drug? Troubling Silences and Unsettling Painkillers in the National Football League

Abstract

This paper uses a genealogical approach to explore the conjuncture at which the longstanding but partial and uneasy silence surrounding painkiller use in the National Football League seems increasingly under threat. We historicize and problematize apparently self-evident narratives about painkiller use in contemporary football by interrogating the gendered, racialized and labor-related discourses surrounding Brett Favre's 1996 admission of a dependency on Vicodin, as well as the latest rash of confessions of misuse by now retired athletes. We argue that these coconstructed and coconstructing moments of noise and silence are part of the same discursive system. This system serves to structure the emerging preoccupation with painkillers in the NFL, with Favre's admission still working to placate anxieties surrounding the broader drug problems endemic to the league, and failing to disrupt our implicit knowingness about painkiller use, thus reinforcing ongoing cultures of silence and toughness in professional football.Cet article adopte une approche généalogique pour explorer la conjoncture par laquelle le silence persistent, bien que partiel et inconfortable, au sujet de l'utilisation de médicaments analgésiques dans la National Football League semble de plus en plus menacé. Nous faisons l'historique et problématisons les récits en apparence évidents en soi à propos des analgésiques dans le football contemporain en interrogeant les discours genrés, racialisés et sur le travail qui entourent l'aveu en 1996 par Brett Favre d'une dépendance au Vicodin, ainsi que la récente série de confessions d'abus par des athlètes désormais à la retraite. Nous suggérons que ces moments de bruit et de silence qui se construisent ensemble font partie du même système discursif. Ce système sert à structurer la préoccupation de plus en plus grande par rapport aux analgésiques dans la NFL, l'aveu de Favre permettant de calmer les anxiétés entourant les problèmes plus vastes de drogue qui sont prévalents dans la ligue, et ne réussissant pas à déranger notre connaissance de l'utilisation de médicaments antidouleur, renforçant ainsi les cultures persistantes du silence et de la robustesse dans le football professionnel.

Ricky and Stick Icky: Marijuana, Sport, and the Legibility/Illegibility of Black Masculinity

“…Issues regarding the representation of marijuana users becomes even more complicated with leagues like the NFL, given the racial make-up of the league. As, the problem of recreational drug use within sport is predominantly framed through the black body (King et al, 2014). However, more expansive narratives of black marijuana users are hindered by the dichotomy that exists between recreational drug use and sport.…”

How far is too far? Understanding identity and overconformity in collegiate wrestlers

“…Whereas many athletes diet and exercise to improve performance, overconforming athletes may develop eating disorders (Johns 1998). Whereas many athletes take ibu-profen after training, overconforming athletes may develop an addiction to prescription medication from pain management efforts (King et al 2014). Overconforming athletes even engage in hazing to belong (Waldron et al 2011).…”

“We Cannot Stand Idly By”: A Necessary Call for a Public Sociology of Sport1

“…While this list is by no means exhaustive, several come to mind: Mary Jo Kane and Nicole La Voi's research and advocacy at the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport; Don Sabo's evidence-based advocacy work the with Women's Sports Foundation; Emmett Gill's "Athletes' Human Rights Project" dedicated to social justice for student-athletes in the U.S.; Samantha King's award winning book, Pink Ribbons, Inc. which offered critically informed analysis on the dangers of breast cancer awareness, was made into a documentary, and is used by Breast Cancer Action, a social justice-based organization; Bruce Kidd's advocacy for public sociology itself, as well as his most recent efforts to advocate for Indian track & field athlete Dutee Chand in her resistance against the draconian sex testing policies of the International Olympic Committee; Peter Donnelly's influential scholarship on public sociology and his leadership at the Center for Sport Policy Studies, including the publication of the "Gender Equality Audit" reports; Richard Lapchick's "Racial and Gender Report Card" which longitudinally tracks the hiring practices of sports organizations in the U.S.; the NASSS members who comprise the Drake Group and the Knight Commission both of which advocate for academic integrity and resist commercialization in intercollegiate sports; Doug Hartmann's editorial work with the online academic website, The Society Pages, which provides an important outlet for scholars such as myself who wish to publicly translate their research; Vic Paraschak's advocacy work in support of aboriginal sports in Canada; Jules Boykoff's work with progressive organizations that resist Olympics and World Cup capitalism, and the efforts of many NASSS members to resist the use of Native American mascots. In addition, recent work published in the Sociology of Sport Journal has taken up explicitly political debates in sport writ large, such as those concerning gender verification (Wells & Darnell, 2014), drug addiction (King et al, 2014), HIV prevention (Forde, 2014), mental health (Magee, Spaaij, & Jeanes, 2015), the use of public funds for private stadia and arena (Scherer, 2016;Scherer, Koch, & Holt, 2016), and the gendered exclusion of women's sport fans (Esmonde, Cooky, & Andrews, 2015). Indeed, according to some accounts, we are all public sociologists, if our conceptualization of public includes our students (see: Burawoy, 2005).…”