Social Disorganizational Aspects of Professional Sports Careers
In: Journal of sport and social issues: the official journal of Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society, Volume 4, Issue 2, p. 14-25
ISSN: 1552-7638
Social disorganization, approached as either structure or process, personal or institu tional, is discussed as it applies to the career of the professional team athlete. Conditions leading to social disorganization are delineated, as are the locations and types of social disorganization likely to be encountered by the athlete. Issues such as institutionalized racial discrimination, cheating, violence, the "win" ethic, the stigma of failure, and athletic retirement are examined as potential sources of disorganization. Sports careers are compared to non-sport careers, and four disorganizational elements unique to sport careers--the superfluity of formal education, accelerated social mobility, the inevitability of a second career, and the nature of athletic retirement--are elaborated.