An investigation was conducted into the impact of controversial publicity on perceptions of well-known sport performers. Undergraduate students (N = 106) rated six high-profile sport stars on 11 dependent variables assessing attitudes and ascribed personality characteristics. Three types of publicity were assessed: steroid use, criminal activity, and sexual stigma. Initial analyses revealed significant multivariate effects for gender, type of publicity, and the interaction of these variables. Examination of univariate effects showed generally favorable perceptions of sexually stigmatized athletes and highly negative perceptions of athletes associated with criminal acts. The results also indicated that athletes associated with the use of performance-enhancing drugs were evaluated harshly and that male / female differences existed for certain types of stigma.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Boundreau, F.
, & Konzac, B. (1991). Ben Johnson and the use of steroids in sport: Sociological and ethical considerations. Canadian Journal of Sport Science, 16, 88-98.
2.
Carbon, D.
(1992, January 25). AIDS comments taint our image: Evans. The West Australian, p. 8.
3.
Fairchild, D. L.
(1989). Sport abjection: Steroids and the uglification of the athlete. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, 16, 74-88.
4.
Feather, N. T.
(1989). The fall of the high achiever: Research into attitudes towards the tall poppy. In J. P. Forgas & J. M. Innes (Eds.), Recent advances in social psychology: An international perspective (pp. 7-20). North-Holland: Elseveir Science.
5.
Feather, N. T.
(1994). Attitudes toward high achievers and reactions to their fall: Theory and research concerning tall poppies. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 26, 1-73.
6.
Feather, N. T.
, & McKee, I. R. (1992). Australian and Japanese attitudes towards the fall of high achievers. Australian Journal of Psychology, 44, 87-93.
7.
Feather, N. T.
, Volkmer, R. E., & McKee, I. R. (1991). Attitudes towards high achievers in public life: Attribution, deservingness, personality and affect. Australian Journal of Psychology, 43, 85-91.
8.
Gibson, R.
(1993, April 10). Third sex conviction seals Pinder downfall. The West Australian, p. 14.
9.
Grove, J. R.
, & Paccagnella, M. (1995). Tall poppies in sport: Attitudes and ascribed personality traits. Australian Psychologist, 30, 88-91.
10.
Harris, J. C.
(1994). Athletes and the American hero dilemma. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
11.
Izod, J.
(1996). Television sport and the sacrificial hero. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 20(2), 173-193.
12.
Kidd, B.
(1987). Sports and masculinity. In M. Kaufman (Ed.), Beyond patriarchy: Essays on pleasure, power and change (pp. 250-265). Toronto: Oxford University Press.
13.
King, S.
(1993). The politics of the body and the body politic: Magic Johnson and the ideology of AIDS. Sociology of Sport Journal, 10, 270-285.
14.
Lenskyj, H.
(1991). Combating homophobia in sport and physical education. Sociology of Sport Journal, 8, 61-69.
15.
Lever, J.
, & Wheeler, S. (1993). Mass media and the experience of sport. Communication Research, 20(1), 125-143.
16.
Martinez, M.
(1992, November 3). “Controversies” cause Johnson to quit again. New York Times, pp. A1, B11.
17.
McGregor, E.
(1989). Mass media and sport: Influences on the public. The Physical Educator, 46(1), 52-55.
18.
McKay, J.
, & Smith, P. (1995). Exonerating the hero: Frames and narratives in media coverage of the OJ Simpson story. Media Information Australia: Sport! Changing the Angle, 75, 57-66.
19.
Messner, M. A.
, & Solomon, W. S. (1993). Outside the frame: Newspaper coverage of the Sugar Ray Leonard wife abuse story. Sociology of Sport Journal, 10, 119-134.
20.
Rowe, D.
(1994). Accommodating bodies: Celebrity, sexuality, and “Tragic Magic.”Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 18, 6-26.
21.
Rucci, M.
(1992, February 10). Johnson returns with ultimatum. The West Australian, p. 85.
22.
Schwerin, M. J.
, & Corcoran, K. J. (1992). What do people think of male steroid users?: An experimental investigation. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 22, 833-840.
23.
Snyder, E. E.
, & Spreitzer, E. A. (1989). Social aspects of sport (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
24.
Swift, E. M.
(1995, March 6). A message worth repeating. Sports Illustrated, 82, p. 100.
25.
Tricker, R.
, Cook, D. L., & McGuire, R. (1989). Issues related to drug abuse in college athletes: Athletes at risk. The Sport Psychologist, 3, 155-165.
26.
Triplet, R. G.
, & Sugarman, D. B. (1987). Reactions to AIDS victims: Ambiguity breeds contempt. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 13, 265-274.
27.
Winer, B. J.
(1971). Statistical principles in experimental design. New York: McGraw-Hill.
28.
Zeiglar, E. F.
(1988). The sport hero phenomenon: A model derived from the social sciences and humanities. International Journal of Physical Education, 25(2), 23-26.
