Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Series editor’s preface
- Author’s preface
- one Introduction: just men fighting?
- two A criminological history of sport
- three Celebrity and corruption: case studies of sports scandals
- four Game of two halves: mainstream criminological theory and sport
- five The second half: critical criminological theory and sport
- six Red card: sport, justice and social control
- seven Retraining: crime prevention and desistance through sport
- eight Conclusion: no such thing as crime, no such thing as sport
- Cases and legislation
- References
- Index
six - Red card: sport, justice and social control
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 April 2022
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Series editor’s preface
- Author’s preface
- one Introduction: just men fighting?
- two A criminological history of sport
- three Celebrity and corruption: case studies of sports scandals
- four Game of two halves: mainstream criminological theory and sport
- five The second half: critical criminological theory and sport
- six Red card: sport, justice and social control
- seven Retraining: crime prevention and desistance through sport
- eight Conclusion: no such thing as crime, no such thing as sport
- Cases and legislation
- References
- Index
Summary
Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad is a 3,000-metresteeplechaser, whose ‘crime’ was to remove his shirtduring the last part of a race, with one hurdle togo, in the final of the European Championships in2014. Unlike Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who gavethe Black power salute on the podium at the 1968Mexico Olympics (Hartman, 2003), Mekhissi-Benabbadwas not making a political point; rather, he wasprematurely celebrating his success in winning therace, much like a footballer. He was initially showna yellow card by stewards before being disqualifiedwhen the Spanish team protested on behalf of theirfourth-placed man. One reason for the rule ofretaining one's shirt is the need to correctlyidentify the runner, as the shirt carries thenumber.
It would be nice to think the rules of theInternational Association of Athletics Federations(IAAF) were a nod to feminism, ensuring that men besubject to the same restrictions as women.WhenBrandi Chastain took off her top to celebratescoring the winning goal in the 1999 Women's WorldCup for the US, however, the incident became‘iconic’. Now it is routine for such celebrations byboth men and women to receive a yellow card, whichmight be seen as indicative of the zero tolerance orzero humour on the part of sportsadministrators.
The Queen's racehorse, Estimate, tested positive formorphine after winning the 2013 Ascot Gold Cup. Thetest result was eventually blamed on poppy seedcontamination at a milling plant on the continent.Horse racing has long been associated with bettingscams, and therefore with the potential tomanipulate outcomes by impairing horses’ performancethrough doping, and the fact that the Queen's horsewas suspected added to the incident'snewsworthiness. This chapter discusses some of theissues such incidents raise for the policing/justicesystems of sport.
The PGA Tour, the organiser of the main professionalgolf tours played in the US and North America, hasits own anti-doping programme, which some claim isnot as stringent as the World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA) code. For the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio (thefirst Olympic golf competition since 1904),participants will automatically be required tocomply with the WADA code under the InternationalGolf Federation's (IGF) anti-doping policy.
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- Information
- Sports CriminologyA Critical Criminology of Sport and Games, pp. 97 - 120Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2016