2017

Long Term Effect on

Athletes Due to Deviant
Overconformity
[DOCUMENT SUBTITLE]
WILL SCHLOTT
 Sports are a huge part of our society and the number of reasons why they are important are as

numerous as the number of people who are involved in sport. From building character in teens and

young adults, to providing entertainment to workers, to maintaining the status quo all of these reasons

are considered valid. Sports sociologists categorize these reason into three theories; fundamental

theory, critical theory, and conflict theory (Coakley, 2015). Regardless of their reasons athletes strive to

do the best that they can. They train their bodies, eat healthy, and follow the rules. At least that is

generally the case. There are many athletes who do not follow the norms, whether they look for ways to

get an edge on their competition, sacrifice their bodies for the sake of winning, or who follow their

coaches word as if it were the gospel. This abnormal behavior is referred to as deviance (Coakley, 2015).

There are two types of deviance negative deviance and positive deviance. Negative deviance, also

referred to as undercomformity, is seen as the disregarding of rules and social norms in order to achieve

a goal. Such as using performance enhancing drugs, bribing officials, or playing dirty. On the other hand,

positive deviance, also known as Overconformity, is seen as taking rules and social expectations to the

extremes. These athletes will sacrifice their health to win, whether that’s playing with an injury, develop

eating disorders to maintain weight, or go through hazing rituals to prove their masculinity, loyalty, or

toughness. This paper will be looking into positive deviance and how it can lead to long term health

concerns. Specifically, how coaching expectations, group expectations, and personal drive cause athletes

to go beyond social norms to achieve their goals.

Most athletes are not going to engage in overconformity to their sport. It is believed that only

those athletes who are likely to tie either their identity or their chances of achieving material success to

sport are the most likely to engage in positive deviance (Hughes & Coakley, 1991). As a result, these

athletes are more likely to be susceptible to following along with self-destructive behavior as a means of

gaining entry to and reaffirming their commitment to the group. These self- destructive behaviors could

range from hazing to over training and using training methods that focus on ends rather than means
(Johns, 1993). They also are more likely to become dependent on their coaches and engage in behaviors

that will prove their commitment and eliminate their own self-doubt (Hughes & Coakley, 1991). This

gives coaches a lot of power over their athletes for good or ill. Unfortunately, there are coaches who use

that power to pressure their athletes to be a certain way that can lead to detrimental behavior.

There are many sports in which weight control is emphasized and expected. These include

wrestling and boxing, which categorize participants in weight classes. Successful athletes in middle

distance and long distance running and other endurance sports tend to be lean due to their training

regime and because less weight means less energy is needed to run therefore enabling for faster a faster

pace. Then there are sports that focus on aesthetics more than the performance such as rhythmic

gymnastics, cheerleading, and dance teams. It is more common in women’s sports for athletes to feel

pressure to reach an ideal body image from their coaches (Coker-Cranney & Reel, 2015). If a coach

expects their athletes to maintain low body weights it is highly likely to lead these athletes to resort to

extreme measures. As a result, these athletes can develop eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia

to lose weight quickly or to prevent themselves from gaining weight. Especially if they depend solely on

their coach, who may not be educated in proper nutrition, for guidance (Johns, 1993). This is why it is

incumbent on coaches to consider their athletes health and wellbeing first and foremost, but also to

encourage athletes not to be dependent on them. Coaches are not the only ones who hold sway over

athletes who are susceptible to overconformity, however, their teammates also have a lot of influence

over them.

Athletes form bonds with each other over their shared experiences of intense training, stressful

competitions, and extreme challenges and risks (Hughes & Coakley, 1991). These bonds help create a

sense of brotherhood/sisterhood over the fact that nonathletes know what it is like to compete on the

field, court, pitch, track, etc... These bonds also lead to a sense that if they do not perform to the best of

their ability that they are not only letting themselves down, they are letting their teammates down. To
an athlete that has overconformed to the idea of the team, it is more import that the team do well. With

this mind set it is not unusual for an athlete to play with an injury because they feel that to sit out and

get better would be letting down the team (Hughes & Coakley, 1991). This is players would not report

concussions so as to be able to continue playing. Even though athletes who did not play beyond high

school and received concussions during their play do not exhibit much long-term damage (Martini,

Broglio, Eckner, & Meehan, 2017) this behavior is also observable in elite athletes. Long-term damage

has been shown to occur to professional football players. The impulse to put their bodies on the line for

the good of the team was most likely instilled in them during high school or sooner. This preexisting

behavior and the nature of the game at that level only compounded the likely hood of these elite

athletes suffering from long-term damage. Athletes also experience significantly more wear on their

joints and ligaments than non-athletes (Kujala, Sakari, Parkkari, Kaprio, & Sarna, 2003). This however is

minimized by the fact that their skeletomuscular systems are able to compensate for that wear and tear

allowing them to be active as they get older (Kujala, Sakari, Parkkari, Kaprio, & Sarna, 2003).

Athletes who overconform to the idea of sport are more likely to engage in activities that will

impair their health in the long-term. Individuals who have equate participation in sport to their person

worth and achievement are more likely to fall prey to ideas that are more concerned with the ends and

disregard the means. This can lead to overtraining, improper training, poor nutrition, or even eating

disorders. Especially if they feel pressured to impress their coach or teammates. These individuals are

going to be the hardest workers in a program and unfortunately there are coaches out there that see

these athletes as perfect pawns that will not question them. Enabling these coaches to get away with

harmful coaching practices that can heap unnecessary stress onto these athletes. Its good to be devoted

and passionate about a sport, but it is equally important to be your own advocate and question a

practice you are not comfortable with especially if it could be harmful to you.
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