Injured Bodies - Pain

            As a future career in sports management, my role is to manage the business aspect of an organization related to sports, such as sporting teams, collegiate recreation, fitness centers, or corporate sponsors. With elite professional athletes, the role for sports managers is to consider the longevity of the sport organization and the welfare of the athlete (Fullerton, 2007; Mullin et al., 2007). Sports and injuries are synonymous, and within the sporting complex, injuries are factors that can greatly affect the well being of sports organization.

As sports managers, the success of a professional organization is beneficial on the performance of an athlete. Within the social figuration, sport managers embrace “play through the pain” or a “shake it off” mentality (Malcom, 2006). Professional or recreational players, pushes themselves to in order to continue playing through the pain, and are typically viewed as a prestigious or courageous action (Ly, 2013). Hughes and Coakley (1991) recognize that the sport ethic is the norm that causes athletes to play through the pain even though it may cause lifelong injuries (Coakley, 2013). As sports managers, athletes are used for the success of an organization and if an injury conflicts with the organization’s mission (win games = profit), that athlete becomes useless for the organization (Killick et al.,  

Frequent reference about the sport ethic is commonly found in locker room conversations, pep talk from coaches, and media depictions about the idea of playing through pain and injury (Coakly, 2013). Although the participation in sport greatly enhances health and quality of life, research has shown that intense sport participation may contribute to increased rates of morbidity and mortality (Houlihan, B. 2008). People who engage in sports for recreation and leisure follow the same viewpoint on pain and injury as according to the sport ethic. It is this “sacrifice for the game” that causes many to continue prolonging potential or existing injuries from occurring.

On August 28, 2011, division III football player Derek Sheely of Frostburg State University, died after suffering injuries from football. After performing a tackling drill in which one coach encouraged players to lead with their helmets, Sheely began bleeding from his forehead (Melliner, 2013). Sheely was bandaged and evaluated by athletic trainers four times without a concussion test, even though Sheely reported to coaches that he “didn’t feel right” and had a headache (Mellinger, 2013). Ignoring his initial remarks, Coach Jamie Schumacher screamed to “stop your bitching and moaning and quit acting like a pussy and get back out Sheely!” (Mellinger, 2013). Sheely later collapsed, never regained consciousness, and died six days later from “brain herniation, an acute subdural hematoma, and massive vascular engorgement” at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore (Fenno, 2013).

My initial response to the 2011 case of Derek Sheely is a reminder of the detrimental effect of players following the sport ethic of playing through the pain and sacrificing for the greater good. I was not surprised when hearing that the coaching staff showed no concern for Sheely’s health and only wanted him to continue playing. This sport ethic is heavily reinforced by the coaching staff, which creates a social norm to not show any signs of pain and continue play (Coakley, 2013). I have experienced similar situations before during my high school football days. It was ‘normal’ for the coaching staff to berate players if they expressed any signs of pain or discomfort.

Although the Sheely case highlights head injuries, particularly concussions, it does not take into account of the effect the sport ethic preaches. The rhetoric of continuing playing through pain or injury and to sacrifice all for the game, becomes damaging and even fatal when athletes choose to closely follow it. The sport ethic and media depictions of elite athletes playing through pain or injury sends a wrong message to players who engage in sport for recreation or leisure purposes. The 2004 story of Curt Schilling’s “bloody sock” is an example of that in which after completing the game, his actions were deemed as courageous and heroic (Ly, 2013). The videos that I have attached highlights that message that pain is temporary. What are the long term harmful effects of that? What message does it say for young athletes? 

As a future sports management practitioner and with my experiences playing sport, this class has made me further understand how the sport ethic is deeply engrained in American sports. With winning as the ultimate goal, it is imperative to protect the success of the organization. In the professional industry, when athletes are injured, I would make considerations for their well-being. It makes no sense to use and abuse your investment that generates revenue for the organization. I would get the athletes the best possible care in order to get that athlete healthy again. In the recreational sense, telling weekend warriors to slow down or to take it easy when playing a sport that they love is difficult. I will encourage weekend warriors to question whether or not it’s worth the risk and understand their body when it hurts.

Reference

Coakley, J. (2013). The sport ethic – A definition. Academia. Retrieved April 12, 2014, from http://www.academia.edu/3289397/THE_SPORT_ETHIC_-_A_Definition. 

Fenno, N. (2013). The Washington Times. Retrieved April 11, 2014 from http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/22/death-frostburg-state-player-derek-sheely-due-egre/?page=all.

Fullerton, S. (2007). Sports Marketing. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Hughes, Robert & Jay Coakley. 1991. Positive deviance among athletes: The implications of over-conformity to the sport ethic. Sociology of Sport Journal, 8(27), 307-325.

Killick, L., Davenport, T., & Baker, J. (2012). Pain and Injury in Sporting Cultures of Risk. Managing Sport: Social and Cultural Perspectives, 128.

Ly, L. (2013). Curt Schilling’s bloody sock sells for $92,613. CNN. Retrieved April 11, 2014 from http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/25/sport/bloody-sock-auction/index.html.

Malcolm, N. (2006). “Shaking it off” and “toughing it out”: Socialization to pain and injury in girls’ softball. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 35(5), 495-525.

Mellinger, S. (2013). Death of Derek Sheely show football’s concussion problems extend beyond NFL. The Kansa City Star. Retrieved April 12, 2014 from http://www.kansascity.com/2013/08/31/4450304/death-of-derek-sheely-shows-why.html.

Mullin, B., Hardy, S., Sutton, W. (2007). Sport marketing. Champagne, IL: Human Kinetics.

Houlihan, B. (2008). Sport and society: A student introduction. Thousand Oaks, CA: AGE Publications Ltd