The Sport Ethic

Sport ethic is a living conformity of a "real athlete" that creates a clear cut vulnerability to deviant behavior. 

According to Hughes and Coakley there can be positive deviance experienced  by athletes. The four dimensions of this are as follows:

1. Being an athlete involves making sacrifices for the game

2. Being an athlete involves striving for distinction 

3. Being an athlete involves accepting risks and playing through pain 

4. Being an athlete involves refusing to accept limits in the pursuit of possibilities

Hughes and Coakley present studies in which athletes overconform to these deviations to the point where they become norms within their sport group to such an extent that their sport participation was disruptive to pretty much everything else in their lives. This inculdes family relationships, work responsibilities, and even their own physical health and comfort. Athletes conform because their sports mean so much to them and are such a huge part of their lives, that they are willing to do anything it takes to succeed or even get a small edge up. They also see people around them such as their teammates conforming, so they feel like they need to. 

I feel like I have definitely experienced all four of the distinctions. I was a rower in high school and made so many sacrifices for the sport including not being able to do a lot of the things my friends did such as attend social events, stay out late or even have free time. I practiced both before and after school, but the distinctions were worth it as I placed at nationals four years straight and earned a scholarship to The University of Alabama, among others, which I eventually passed up. I wanted to be the best and was willing to row through the pain -- for example, my junior year I rowed at the Head of The Charles with a torn ligament in my shoulder, but it was worth it when we did well! Being an athletes means always buying into the system and believing the sky is the limit, no matter what your limitations actually are.