Mental Health and the Sport Ethic: A Critical Discussion
Winning and competition are arguably foundational to elite sport. Scholars call the values, beliefs, and behaviors that adhere to winning and competition the “sport ethic.” The sport ethic defines four main beliefs of elite sport: (a) elite athletes make sacrifices for the game and are committed to the game; (b) athletes strive for distinction, domination, and greatness; (c) athletes adhere to the ‘no pain, no gain’ mindset’ (d) and athletes must overcome all obstacles to be successful (Coakley, 2009). We praise athletes for conforming to these norms, and often this praise encourages athletes to over-conform to the sport ethic (Hughes & Coakley, 1991); in other words, because of the pressure to adhere to the sport ethic, athletes literally do anything to win. This act of over-conforming can result in engaging in unhealthy behaviors to demonstrate their dedication to their sport, such as playing through a major injury or not seeking help for diminished mental health.
Recently, in an attempt to expose this harmful culture perpetuated by overconformity to the sport ethic, and to normalize the struggle of mental health in the athletic context, many elite athletes have begun to speak out about their own mental health diagnoses on their public social media accounts. Encouragingly, on the surface, mental health disclosures on athletes’ social media pages seem positive, with public response often praising athletes for their “strength” in being vulnerable. Yet, comments continue to frame mental health content in a way that makes sense within the sport ethic, which does not actually challenge mental health stigma. For example, in a recent review of public responses to an elite athlete speaking about an eating disorder diagnosis, Instagram comments included: “... even super heroes can get caught up in shit and stumble”; “#staystrong your a warrior 💪💪💪”; “You will overcome this just like everything else because that's WHAT YOU DO. You're a WINNER. Super STRONG 👊💪👊.” The use of words, such as “fighter,” “heroes,” “warrior,”, “winner,” and “strong” reproduces an understanding of the sport ethic (Coakley, 2009). These types of comments emphasize strength and athletic norms, instead of prioritizing the importance of emotional vulnerability. This ultimately reinforces the cultural norms of sport by upholding the sport ethic. This again demonstrates the tension of mental health in sport. The public appreciates athletes breaking from the sport ethic by openly discussing mental health, but at the same time, the language used reinforces the culture of the sport ethic that produces mental health stigma in the first place.
As described in our example, the athletes’ discussions of mental health were met with language like, “even super heroes stumble.” This actually re-stigmatized their mental health diagnosis by describing it as a “stumble,” while simultaneously celebrating their strength. Ultimately, the focus of this comment was on reframing the mental health diagnosis to maintain the sport ethic of “strength” rather than supporting the athlete through their difficult journey.
Because social media can be used as a platform for advocacy, some universities have deployed mental health campaigns to battle the ever-increasing mental health crisis gripping our university campuses and athletic departments. These campaigns often incorporate notable student-athletes and their mental health testimonials. Yet, the content within these mental health campaigns often fits the sport ethic. Although it does normalize mental health as a part of sport and life, it simultaneously reproduces the athlete’s identity as one that needs to remain strong. Scholars suggest that campaigns that focus on managing mental health (i.e., being strong) may trivialize the actual and real struggle that comes with having a mental health diagnosis (Saltmarsh, 2016).
Importantly, sport scholars have called for a cultural shift in elite athletics that does not prioritize strength above all else (Love & Gearity, 2013). Although the “speaking out about mental health challenges is a sign of strength” message may be helpful, these messages also need to affirm that not feeling strong is okay. Not feeling strong does not make someone less of an athlete. Instead of focusing only on the strength of speaking about mental health in sport, these mental health campaigns can normalize moments of weakness. This may go farther to transform the culture of elite sport, so that we can prioritize athlete wellness over remaining strong to win.
References
Coakley, J. (2009). Sports in society (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Hughes, R., & Coakley, J. (1991). Positive deviance among athletes: The implications of overconformity to the sport ethic. Sociology of Sport Journal, 8, 307-325. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.8.4.307.
Love, A., & Gearity, B. (2013). Sport sociology. In S. P. Brown (Ed.), Fundamentals in Kinesiology (pp. 84-98). Kendall/Hunt.
Saltmarsh, S. (2016) ‘No, I’m not ok’: Disrupting ‘psy’ discourses of university mental health awareness campaigns. In: E. B. Petersen & Z. Millei (Eds.). Interrupting the psy-disciplines in education (pp. 167-183). Palgrave Macmillan.
