Whistleblowing of bullying in professional football: To report or not to report?

Newman, James A.; Warburton, Victoria E.; Russell, Kate

doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2022.102177

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Waytz et al ( 18 ) argue that the “fairness-loyalty” quandary is likely to be heightened if the whistleblower and the PED user have a close relationship and this is evident in our findings. Many of our athletes were concerned that whistleblowing might result in them being ostracized from their respective in-groups—a process which is associated with a significant decline in an individual's fundamental needs, mood, status, and competence ( 36 ). Sports teams are often characterised by close social bonds and athletes may be reluctant to do anything that threatens group cohesion or undermines a friendship forged over many years.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Qualitative analysis of the factors associated with whistleblowing intentions among athletes from six European countries

Toner,

Jones,

Fairs

et al. 2024

Front. Sports Act. Living

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Although whistleblowing is thought to represent an effective mechanism for detecting and uncovering doping in sport, it has yet to become a widely adopted practice. Understanding the factors that encourage or discourage whistleblowing is of vital importance for the promotion of this practice and the development of pedagogical material to enhance the likelihood of whistleblowing. The current study employed a qualitative methodology to explore the personal and organisational factors that underpin intentions to blow the whistle or that may lead to engagement in whistleblowing behaviours in sport. Thirty-three competitive athletes across a range of sports took part in a semi-structured interview which sought to explore what they would do should they encounter a doping scenario. Content analysis revealed that whistleblowing is a dynamic process characterised by the interaction of a range of personal and organisational factors in determining the intention to report PED use. These factors included moral reasoning, a desire to keep the matter “in-house”, perceived personal costs, institutional attitudes to doping, and social support. Analysis revealed a number of “intervening events”, including a perceived lack of organisational protection (e.g., ethical leadership) within some sporting sub-cultures, which present an important obstacle to whistleblowing. The intention to report doping was underpinned by a “fairness-loyalty trade-off” which involved athletes choosing to adhere to either fairness norms (which relate to a sense that all people and groups are treated equally) or loyalty norms (which reflect preferential treatment towards an in-group) when deciding whether they would blow the whistle. The promotion of fairness norms that emphasise a group's collective interests might encourage athletes to view whistleblowing as a means of increasing group cohesiveness and effectiveness and thereby increase the likelihood of this practice.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Qualitative analysis of the factors associated with whistleblowing intentions among athletes from six European countries

Toner,

Jones,

Fairs

et al. 2024

Front. Sports Act. Living

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show abstract

“…These were quite concerning allegations about how individuals exercise their role as a bystander by offering personal opinions which may mean that inappropriate behavior is not addressed. As such it reveals the persistence of a culture of organizational bystanding in football (23,61) where concerns around behavior are suppressed or never reported. Moreover, it suggests that the first instinct may be for individuals to inappropriately protect each other, due to the "intense loyalty" demanded by their clubs (23), rather than to work with other parts of their club/ organization to handle cases professionally.…”

Section: Football Cultures Affecting Understandingmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…The result of this are issues with the reporting of maltreatment which might be reflective of the degree to which key personnel (e.g., football players, coaches, sport scientists and welfare officers) are educated (or not) about this behavior (22). These findings are compounded by recent research which highlighted the volatile culture around reporting wrongdoing in professional football, that leaves players in fear of speaking out (23). can further increase the potential for maltreatment.…”

Section: Defining Maltreatmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For this project, a relativist position was adopted to ensure sound qualitative practice and to maintain data trustworthiness (23,48). As a marker of quality, the underlying philosophical assumptions were set out for the study as a means of illustrating how theoretical assumptions influenced the study design, analysis, and the authors' relationship with the participants (52,53).…”

Section: Research Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similarly, although several different personnel in football were involved in the present study, it did not capture the views of football players and coaches. This is important to highlight in light of a range of recent research which has sought to empower the voices of athletes in relation to their maltreatment experiences (72) and players' experiences of whistleblowing (23). Additionally, this may be seen as a limitation in light of research which has sought to empower end users' views of adult safeguarding (83).…”

Section: Data Availability Statementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Towards an understanding of maltreatment in football

Newman,

Rumbold

2024

Front. Sports Act. Living

Self Cite

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IntroductionThis study explored the understanding of maltreatment from the perspective of various personnel working in roles related to safeguarding and welfare in English professional and semi-professional football.MethodThrough a social constructivist position, the present study was able to explore multiple understandings and perceptions of maltreatment in football. Individual semi-structured interviews (MDuration = 68.00 minutes, SD = 9.05 minutes) were conducted with 19 participants working across league structures ranging from the English Premier League (EPL) to the English Northern Premier League Division One, as well as individuals working with some of the principal organizations in English professional football.ResultsThrough reflexive thematic analysis, three general dimensions were highlighted: “current understanding of maltreatment in football,” “constituents of maltreatment,” and “signs and symptoms of maltreatment.” Findings from those working in a safeguarding capacity mirror the research literature around understanding the components of maltreatment but also demonstrate how wrongdoing is nuanced by the football context, in that certain forms of maltreatment are driven by the unique nature of this environment.DiscussionFrom an applied perspective, the findings also outline how to distinguish both the more overt and covert signs and symptoms of maltreatment, whilst also highlighting the impact of maltreatment on individuals' mental health and their sense of self. Overall, the findings provide a platform for practitioners and researchers to consider in the design of safeguarding and welfare provision by highlighting the need to raise knowledge and awareness of maltreatment whilst intervening to challenge the prevailing workplace culture within professional football.

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Perceptions of Confrontational Behavior in Sport Situations as a Function of Athlete Status, Narcissism, and Psychopathy

Levy,

Barry

2023

Trends in Psychol.

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Whistleblowing of bullying in professional football: To report or not to report?

Cited by 8 publications

References 46 publications

Qualitative analysis of the factors associated with whistleblowing intentions among athletes from six European countries

Qualitative analysis of the factors associated with whistleblowing intentions among athletes from six European countries

Towards an understanding of maltreatment in football

Perceptions of Confrontational Behavior in Sport Situations as a Function of Athlete Status, Narcissism, and Psychopathy

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