Battling to remain clean: a professional athlete’s experiences of dealing with doping dilemmas

OBJECTIVES: To qualitatively explore the phenomenon of doping in sport through the lived experience of a professional sportsman. DESIGN: Qualitative design underpinned by the social ecological model. METHODS: A semi-structured interview was conducted with a professional team athlete who spoke openly about his willingness to dope and the context within which his doping vulnerability emerged. Interview data was analysed via thematic analysis. RESULTS: Three main themes emerged regarding Harry’s experiences: 1) the occupational necessity of doping, 2) normative influence and 3) family as protection. Harry was aware of several players who were using, or rumoured to be using, a prohibited substance. Doping elicited anger in Harry as he believed he had been denied sporting success because of the cheating behaviour of his peers. He also articulated a feeling of helplessness in preventing doping. Beyond normative pressures, Harry shared that his coach had encouraged him to use a prohibited substance and this encouragement exposed his willingness to dope. In turn, this led Harry to seek counsel from his parents. CONCLUSIONS: Harry’s accounts bring to light the day-to-day pressures of being a professional athlete earning a living through sport. Situational factors may lead athletes to develop a willingness to dope just to ‘keep up’ with others in their sport who are using prohibited substances. However, this study highlights that having strong social support from family members who uphold the view that ‘doping is cheating’ can protect athletes against doping, even when others are doping, believed to be doping or encourage doping.