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A script analysis of the role of athletes’ support networks as social facilitators in doping in sport

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Crime Prevention and Community Safety Aims and scope

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the role of athletes’ support networks in doping in sport from a crime prevention perspective. To achieve this objective, the researchers conducted an in-depth script analysis of documents related to investigations in 2012 by the United States Anti-Doping Agency and in 2015 by the Cycling Independent Reform Commission of the doping programme carried out by the US Postal Service cycling team between 1996 and 2012. The results suggest that athletes’ support networks—such as team doctors, sports scientists, team directors and family members—play a critical role as social facilitators in doping in sport by encouraging, supporting and protecting both the doping programmes and the athletes who participate in them. This paper argues that a greater proportion of prevention measures must focus beyond the athlete themselves and on the activities of individuals within an athlete’s support network. The paper proposes several situational prevention strategies specifically targeting the activities of social facilitators.

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Notes

  1. Anabolic steroids are substances “similar to the male hormone testosterone, which can enhance endurance, performance and muscle growth” (“Anabolic steroid doping” 2016).

  2. Blood doping is “an illicit method of improving athletic performance by artificially boosting the blood’s ability to bring more oxygen to muscles” (“Blood Doping” 2014).

  3. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is a non-governmental organisation with the mandate to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports.

  4. It can be of course argued that the intent to dope does not always come from within the athlete him or herself, but instead can be imposed. For example, in the case of Russian athletes, their decision to participate in the doping program was likely and often not voluntary (refs here). However, we argue that even if imposed from the outside, ultimately, it is the athlete who decides to agree to participate in the doping program or not.

  5. Hematocrit is the ratio of the volume of red blood cells to the total volume of blood (“Hematocrit test” 2016).

  6. While the example of a doping program examined in this study can be described as particularly complex and sophisticated (which likely contributed to the fact that this particular doping program was successful for over a decade), we argue that the main principles and steps of the crime script are the same for any successful program regardless the scale.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Griffith Criminology Institute, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University, Mt Gravatt, Australia

    Zarina I. Vakhitova

  2. Rabdan Academy, Al Dhafeer Street, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Peter J. Bell

Authors
  1. Zarina I. Vakhitova
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  2. Peter J. Bell
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Correspondence to Zarina I. Vakhitova.

Appendix

Appendix

List of affidavits analysed in this paper:

Cyclists

Other witnesses

[01]. Affidavit of Levi Leipheimer

[013]. Affidavit of Betsy Andreu

[02]. Affidavit of Jörg Jaksche

[014]. Affidavit of Piero Boccarossa

[03]. Affidavit of Frankie Andreu

[015]. Witness statement of Larry Bowers

[04]. Affidavit of Tom Danielson

[016]. Affidavit of Marco Consonni

[05]. Affidavit of Michael Barry

[017]. Affidavit of Renzo Ferrante

[06]. Affidavit of George Hincapie

[018]. Affidavit of Emma O’Reilly

[07]. Affidavit of David Zabriskie

[019]. Affidavit of Dawn Polay

[08]. Affidavit of Jonathan Vaughters

[20]. Affidavit of Jack Robertson

[09]. Affidavit of Stephen Swart

[21]. Affidavit of Paul Scott

[010]. Affidavit of Tyler Hamilton

[22]. Affidavit of Lory Testasecca

[011]. Affidavit of Floyd Landis

[23]. Declaration of Jean-Pierre Verdy

[012]. Affidavit of Christian Van de Velde

 

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Vakhitova, Z.I., Bell, P.J. A script analysis of the role of athletes’ support networks as social facilitators in doping in sport. Crime Prev Community Saf 20, 168–188 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41300-018-0045-8

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