Dying to win?: the Goldman Dilemma in legend and fact

Moston, Stephen, Hutchinson, Brendan, and Engelberg, Terry (2017) Dying to win?: the Goldman Dilemma in legend and fact. International Journal of Sport Communication, 10 (4). pp. 429-443.

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Abstract

One of the implicit justifications for anti-doping is that athletes are so committed to winning that they will take performance enhancing substances regardless of the apparent consequences. Athletes are alleged to be, quite literally, willing to die to win. Support for this claim usually centres on the results of research by physician Bob Goldman, in which athletes were asked to respond to a hypothetical dilemma in which they were offered spectacular success in their chosen sport, but at a heavy price: they would die after five years of glory. In this paper, we examine the origins of this bargain, now popularly referred to as the Goldman dilemma, finding that both the methodology and implications of the original work have repeatedly been described inaccurately in both popular and scientific writings. These errors reflect both poor scholarship, and deliberate misuse, where the flawed narrative is used to justify contentious policy decisions.

Item ID: 49903
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1936-3907
Keywords: Goldman Dilemma, drugs in sport, athletes, doping, elite sport
Date Deposited: 25 Sep 2017 02:17
FoR Codes: 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5201 Applied and developmental psychology > 520107 Sport and exercise psychology @ 40%
47 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE > 4701 Communication and media studies > 470101 Communication studies @ 20%
35 COMMERCE, MANAGEMENT, TOURISM AND SERVICES > 3504 Commercial services > 350405 Sport and leisure management @ 40%
SEO Codes: 95 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING > 9501 Arts and Leisure > 950102 Organised Sports @ 100%
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