Towards a sociology of drugs in sport

A sociologically informed analysis of drugs in sport requires the researcher to focus upon social forces. It is a continuing flaw of the literature that the individual is prioritized over wider social forces. In this essay I aim to provide a representative sketch of how the discipline questions and critiques social problems like drugs in sport. This includes arguing for a critical challenge to the mythologies of sport and drugs, and why and how sport and play are different, and exposing the role nationalism and ideology play in encouraging doping. I conclude by suggesting four avenues of research: amalgamating sport theory with drug theory, the concept of the networked athlete, prevalence rates and public perceptions of performance-enhancing drug use. This essay is by necessity broad and introductory – highlighting the challenge faced by sociologists to engage with the issue and demonstrate the social forces at work.