Public Perceptions of Steroid Use in Sport: Contextualizing Communication Efforts

Transcription

1 STUDENT COMMENTARY International Journal of Sport Communication, 2008, 1, Human Kinetics, Inc. Public Perceptions of Steroid Use in Sport: Contextualizing Communication Efforts Amy B. Becker University of Wisconsin Madison, USA Dietram A. Scheufele University of Wisconsin Madison, USA Recently, the controversy surrounding the use of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs by Olympic and professional athletes has captured the media spotlight, in part as a response to the very public and pervasive steroids scandal plaguing Major League Baseball (MLB). This article examines trends in Americans attitudes toward the use of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs in Olympic and professional sport as a way to better understand the messaging challenges that policy makers, players, managers, coaches, and publicists face when trying to influence the media agenda. As the poll data presented suggest, Americans feel that the incidence of performanceenhancing- drug use in professional sport is significant, especially in MLB. Furthermore, Americans suggest that the leadership of various professional sports is not doing enough to combat the use of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs by top competitors. Keywords: performance-enhancing drugs, Olympics, baseball, drugs in sport The problem of illegal drug use has long been a public policy concern in the United States. By the mid-1980s, one third of Americans (33%) indicated that the problem of illegal drug use should be called a crisis in the area where they live, with about half suggesting the same by late 1989 and into the fall of 1990 (51% and 52%, respectively; ABC News, 1986, 1990; ABC News & The Washington Post, 1989). Just before this, the Reagan administration initiated a highly visible public service campaign to encourage Americans of all ages to just say no, to Becker is a doctoral student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, WI Scheufele, with the Dept. of Life Sciences Communication, is her academic advisor. 444

2 Public Perceptions of Steroids 445 drugs, while also encouraging parents to discourage their children from mimicking the habits of their celebrity role models actors, musicians, and athletes alike (Whitehurst, 1988). In fact, by 1995, 51% of Americans felt that professional athletes had a great deal of influence over the attitudes of children and teenagers toward the use of drugs, with 63% of Americans suggesting that celebrities in the entertainment industry, including television, movies, and music, had the same effect (Gallup, CNN, & USA Today, 1995). In the 1980s and 1990s, concern over drug use by professional athletes was primarily driven by the use of drugs like cocaine and heroin both on and off the field (Bryant, 2006). Relatively few incidents concerning the illegal use of steroids most notably Ben Johnson s contested 1988 Olympic victory in the 100-m dash captured the headlines (Mackay, 2003). More recently, the number of professional athletes who have come to rely on performance-enhancing drugs including anabolic steroids and human growth hormone has grown, although official counts are hard to come by given the illegal nature of the substances in question (Carroll & Carroll, 2005; McCallum, 2008). Legal sales of human growth hormone reached over $1 billion dollars in 2004, and it is estimated that sales have continued to grow over the last few years (McCallum). As a result of this surge in legal, and presumably illegal, performance-enhancing-drug use, media coverage of the steroids controversy has subsequently increased, becoming a focus of evening news broadcasts, in-depth news programs, major sport magazines like Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine, blog posts, and late-night political satire. As a result, policy makers, players, managers, coaches, and publicists now face a communications challenge namely, to restore Americans faith in those who compete in professional and Olympic sport while spreading the message that steroid use is under control. Understanding the Controversy The first step in responding to this communications challenge is a concentrated effort to influence the media agenda by putting forth messages and policy proposals consistent with the views of most Americans (Denham, 2004; McCombs & Shaw, 1972; Nisbet, Brossard, & Kroepsch, 2003). Part of the process of agenda setting includes advancing news frames that promote a particular point of view so that it becomes increasingly difficult for other stakeholders to change the tenor of the debate (Scheufele, 1999). Before choosing these frames and defining the crux of the steroids controversy for the mass media, it is important that stakeholders first understand public sentiment on this controversial issue. As such, this study begins by examining trends in public opinion about the prevalence and use of performance-enhancing drugs in a variety of competitive contexts from Olympic competition to Major League Baseball (MLB) and other high-profile professional sports. 1 The research probes further by tracking attitudes toward the use of performance-enhancing drugs in MLB generally and toward controversial home-run hitter and alleged steroids user Barry Bonds, in particular. The study concludes by examining public sentiment for proposed punishments for athletes who use performance-enhancing drugs and by exploring attitudes about the larger social problem of the use of performance-enhancing drugs in professional

3 446 Becker and Scheufele sport. A heightened understanding of the climate of American public opinion on the issue of performance-enhancing-drug use in sport leads to a greater contextualization of the controversy and enhances the athletic community s ability to successfully influence the media agenda and control the framing of the steroids controversy. Performance-Enhancing-Drug Use as a Widespread Problem Although recent media attention has centered on the steroid controversy currently plaguing MLB namely, the Clemens Congressional hearings and the larger BALCO controversy the use of performance-enhancing drugs increasingly continues to color competition in sports as diverse as football, track and field, cycling, and swimming. With the arrival of each new major sporting event, whether it be the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China; the 2008 Tour de France; or the 2008 MLB season, comes a selection of news stories on doping in sport. On the whole, the American public believes that steroid use is relatively widespread among American athletes, with higher levels of use perceived among professional non-olympic athletes and MLB players. For example, in 2003, 43% of Americans said most or half of U.S. professional athletes used steroids to enhance their athletic performance, compared with 18% indicating that most or half of American Olympic athletes do so (CBS & The New York Times, 2003). This compares with 34% of baseball fans who indicated in March of 2008 that most or half of MLB players use steroids to enhance their athletic performance (CBS & The New York Times, 2008). When asked to compare the use of performance-enhancing drugs in various high-profile professional sports in June of 2007, Americans were more likely to suggest that it was more widespread in professional football and baseball (33% all or almost all/most athletes using vs. 27% all or almost all/most athletes using) than in track and field, cycling, basketball, and swimming (with 21%, 20%, 16%, and 9% saying all or almost all/most use performance-enhancing drugs for each respective sport; Gallup & USA Today, 2007). Furthermore, most (65%) baseball fans suggested that steroid use was a major problem among MLB players in December of 2004 (Quinnipiac, 2004). In addition, the percentage of those saying that the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs is a major or minor problem among Olympic athletes has increased slightly over the past 15 years. Throughout the 1980s and the early part of the 1990s, most Americans expressed concern over increasing reports of drug use among professional athletes. Turning more specifically to the steroids controversy currently plaguing MLB, most Americans (55%) indicated in April of 2005 that they care a lot about professional baseball players using steroids and performance-enhancing drugs, with 71% of baseball fans indicating they care a lot by May of 2007 (see Table 1; AP & Ipsos, 2005, 2007). 2 Furthermore, perceptions of the incidence of steroid and performance-enhancing-drug use in MLB continue to grow, with more Americans, especially fans of MLB, assuming higher percentages of use than in previous years, along with higher perceived percentages of long-term use.

4 Table 1 Poll Question: How Much Do You Care if Professional Baseball Players Use Steroids or Other Performance-Enhancing Drugs? AP/AOL/Ipsos AP/Ipsos, 4/1 4/3/05 4/10 4/20/06 a 10/18/06 b 5/29 6/7/07 c 3/15 3/18/08 d 10/10 AP/lpsos, CBS/The New York Times, A lot 55% 63% 58% 71% 53% A little 23% 21% 23% 18% 29% Not at all 22% 16% 18% 11% 16% Not sure 1% 2% N 1,001 2,006 2,002 2,000 1,067 a Question asked of fans/somewhat of a fan of professional baseball (40% of sample). b Question asked of fans/somewhat of a fan of professional baseball (36% of sample). c Question asked of fans/somewhat of a fan of professional baseball (41% of sample). d Question asked of baseball fans (46% of sample). 447

5 448 Becker and Scheufele Focus on MLB: The Pollution of America s Pastime? Since its earliest days, the sport of baseball has been plagued with its fair share of scandal and controversy. From the Black Sox scandal of 1919 to the gambling exploits of Cincinnati Reds player and manager Pete Rose in the late 1980s, America s pastime has been periodically tarnished well before this most recent controversy (Gutman, 1990; MacGregor, 1999). Despite early evidence of the use of anabolic steroids by star players in the sport in the late 1980s, including Oakland Athletics Jose Canseco, MLB did not begin a random testing program until recently, testing first for steroid use in the minor leagues in 2001, with the major leagues following suit in 2003 ( Jose Canseco: Juiced, 2005; Special Report, 2008; Wilson & Schmitt, 2007). By March of 2004, a full 91% of baseball fans felt that MLB players should be tested for steroids and performance-enhancing drugs, up from 86% in May of 2002 (Gallup, CNN, & USA Today, 2002, 2004a). By the end of 2004, more than one third of Americans felt that the steroid/drug scandal had diminished their opinion of baseball a lot or a little 39% in December 2004 and a full 42% in March of 2005 (NBC & The Wall Street Journal, 2004, 2005). By the start of the 2005 baseball season, 61% of Americans felt that MLB was not doing enough to prevent the use of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs by the league s players (ABC News & ESPN, 2005). In the spring and fall of 2006, this perception continued, with 61% of American baseball fans suggesting in the spring of 2007 that MLB was not doing enough to curb the use of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs (AP & Ipsos, 2007). In fact, even after MLB s testing program was in full swing, having been approved by the players union and the league s leadership, most American baseball fans in the winter and summer of 2005 still felt the program did not go far enough in addressing the issue of steroids in baseball (in January of 2005, 66% said the testing program does not go far enough, compared with 63% of fans who felt the same in August of 2005; Gallup, CNN, & USA Today, 2005a, 2005c). In sum, the surge in the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs had come to taint the sport of baseball, a sport with a storied yet often troubled past. MLB s response in 2006, apart from the implementation of a new drug- testing program, was for Commissioner Bud Selig to ask former senator George Mitchell to spearhead an investigation into the past use of steroids and performanceenhancing drugs by MLB players. With steroid use being labeled as a public health crisis by some policy makers, the U.S. Congress decided to explore the public regulation of drug-testing and -screening programs in professional sport in the spring of 2005 (Brady, Patrick, & Stone, 2005). Despite objections from some questioning the relevance of such government involvement, the regulation of performance- enhancing-drug use in professional sport had shifted from being a private matter to a more public and national concern. The Mitchell investigation was to be independent and separate from the earlier investigations by various House and Senate committees into the use of anabolic steroids and performanceenhancing drugs by professional athletes from five of the nation s professional sport leagues: MLB, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, and Major League Soccer ( Special Report, 2008).

6 Public Perceptions of Steroids 449 The full Mitchell report, released in December of 2007, named 89 baseball players who had used performance-enhancing drugs and led some to argue that the problem of steroids represented a collective failure in MLB (Wilson & Schmitt, 2007). New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens was just one of many players singled out in the almost 400 pages of the Mitchell Report and would soon become the next player to feel the heat of further Congressional investigations. Before Clemens, however, the spotlight had focused on San Francisco Giants left fielder and home run giant, Barry Bonds. Barry Bonds: Forever to Be Marked With an Asterisk? A controversial figure with an often explosive personality, Barry Bonds is perhaps best known for smashing Hank Aaron s all-time home run record in August of 2007 with the accumulation of 762 (passing Aaron with 756) home runs over the course of his 22-year career in baseball (Donovan, 2007). Given allegations that Bonds knowingly lied about possible steroid use during the BALCO investigations, many have suggested that Bonds is in fact a cheater whose record should be marked with an asterisk his achievement forever tainted by his alleged steroid use (Fainaru-Wada & Williams, 2006). As public-opinion data gathered over the course of the past 4 years show, most American baseball fans agree that Barry Bonds has most likely used steroids during the course of his baseball career. For trend data, see Table 2. Although there is a sizeable amount of polling data measuring public sentiment toward Barry Bonds, unfortunately there are few data available measuring public sentiment for figures such as Jason Giambi, Andy Pettitte, or Jose Canseco, baseball players who have been more candid and forthcoming about their past use of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs. In part, this might be attributable to perjury charges that have been leveled against Bonds and his general dubious conduct throughout the course of the investigations. Players like Giambi, for example, have had a far easier time remaining in the sport, capturing the attention and admiration of baseball fans in part because of their honesty (Kepner, 2005; Rhoden, 2008). Mark McGwire, a player who broke the single-season home run record with a tally of 70 home runs in his race against Sammy Sosa in 1998, has admitted to using steroids during his record-breaking season. Although there are some polling data suggesting that Americans and fans of MLB hold negative opinions of the former St. Louis Cardinals and Oakland Athletics player, McGwire has managed to avoid the harsh public scrutiny generally reserved for Barry Bonds by remaining more of a private than an outwardly public sports figure ( Mark Mc Gwire s Seventy, n.d.). In sum, it is likely that public sentiment toward Bonds might be markedly more negative than public attitudes toward more apologetic, less controversial, and less vocal sports figures. In his defense, Bonds has suggested that he was not aware the substances he was using were actually steroids. Most Americans reject this claim, with about three quarters indicating in late 2004 and early 2005 they believe that Bonds is definitely or probably not telling the truth (75% and 76% respectively; Gallup, CNN, & USA Today, 2004b, 2005b). On the whole, the average American and the

7 450 Table 2 Poll Question: Has Barry Bonds Probably Used Steroids? ABC/ESPN 3/29 Gallup/USA 4/22/07 d Today, 5/4 5/6/07 e Gallup/USA Today, 4/7 4/9/06 c 7/19/06 Gallup/CNN/ USA Today, 3/18 3/20/05 Gallup/CNN/ USA Today, ABC/ESPN, 3/26 3/28/04 a 3/11 3/15/05 b Yes 64% 65% 75% 78% 77% 73% 72% No 19% 16% 14% 12% 12% 14% 17% No opinion 17% 19% 11% 11% 11% 13% 11% N 1,001 1, , ,219 1,010 a Question asked of baseball fans/somewhat of a fan (45% of sample). b Question asked of fans of professional baseball (58% of sample). c Question asked of fans of professional baseball (41% of sample). d Question asked of baseball fans/somewhat of a fan (36% of sample). e Question asked of fans of professional baseball (45% of sample).

8 Public Perceptions of Steroids 451 average baseball fan agree that Barry Bonds should be held accountable for his actions. Given the mounds of evidence against Bonds and the extensive documentation of his regimen, said to include two designer steroids referred to as the Cream and the Clear, as well as insulin, human growth hormone, testosterone decanoate (a fast-acting steroid known as Mexican beans), and trenbolone, a steroid created to improve the muscle quality of cattle, ( Bonds Exposed, 2006, para. 2) it is not surprising that Bonds has a significant public-perception problem. At the same time, it is important to consider the issue of race when looking at public attitudes toward Barry Bonds. On the whole, the American public (and fans of MLB) believes that Bonds has used steroids even though he has not tested positive for performance-enhancing substances, but many African Americans have suggested that Bonds is being treated unfairly, in part because of his race. As ESPN.com notes in its review of the March April 2007 ESPN/ABC News poll (N = 799, with an oversample of 203 African Americans), Blacks are nearly twice as likely to think Bonds has been treated unfairly (46 percent to 25 percent). Why? The survey found that 41 percent of black fans think this is due to the steroids issue, 25 percent think it s because of his race, and 21 percent blame Bonds personality. For whites who think Bonds has been treated unfairly, 66 percent blame steroids. Virtually none blame race. ( Americans Conflicted, para 5 6) Punishment and Policy Solutions Many Americans and MLB fans alike have suggested that athletes who have been found guilty of steroid and performance-enhancing-drug use should be stripped of their records. More specifically, recent data suggest that most Americans have come to feel that records set by athletes who were using steroids and performanceenhancing drugs at the time should be eliminated from the record books completely, and about one third believe these records should be kept, but with a note. For example, in December of 2004, 41% of Americans indicated that they felt these records should be eliminated and 42% said they should be kept with a note (Gallup, CNN, & USA Today, 2004b). By May of 2007, 52% of Americans favored eliminating the tainted records, with 29% indicating these records should be kept, but with a note (CBS & The New York Times, 2007). In the case of MLB, fans are less likely, on average, to feel that MLB players should have their baseball records wiped out, perhaps in part because of the pervasiveness of steroid use in the sport. Opinions differ when fans are asked specifically about Barry Bonds, with about half (52%) indicating in a March 2006 poll that they feel Bonds s batting records should be expunged (Gallup, CNN, & USA Today, 2006). Similarly, a near majority of Americans (49% in March 2005), and MLB fans more specifically (52% in December of 2004), have expressed the opinion that MLB players who test positive for steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs should be banned from the Hall of Fame (NBC & The Wall Street Journal, 2005; Quinnipiac, 2004). At the same time, there has been some fluctuation in public opinion over the past few years as to whether Barry Bonds should be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Overall, however, public support for electing Bonds into

9 452 Becker and Scheufele the Hall of Fame has dwindled among baseball fans as the steroids scandal has continued to unfold. For example, 57% of baseball fans indicated that he should be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in a poll conducted in August of 2005, compared with 44% of baseball fans who said the same in March of 2008 (CBS & The New York Times, 2008; Gallup, CNN, & USA Today, 2005b). For full trend data, see Table 3. Although Barry Bonds remains a controversial figure in MLB, the spotlight has shifted and is now focused on Roger Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young award winner who has often been dubbed the best pitcher in baseball (Edes, 2007). The full extent of the Clemens controversy has yet to unfurl, but the tide of public opinion has already begun to shift against him. In fact, most baseball fans (57%) indicated in a February 2008 poll (Gallup & USA Today, 2008) that they felt Roger Clemens was lying about his use of steroids. In addition, public support for electing Clemens into the Baseball Hall of Fame has begun to fade, with 62% of baseball fans saying in February 2008 he should be, compared with only 50% of baseball fans expressing the same sentiment in March of 2008 (CBS & The New York Times, 2008; Gallup & USA Today, 2008). As the Clemens controversy continues to unravel, public support for Clemens might diminish both among fans of MLB and among average Americans. Future Considerations With household names such as Marion Jones, Floyd Landis, Justin Gatlin, Barry Bonds, and Roger Clemens connected with either proven or suspected steroid use, it is clear that the world of professional sport still needs to develop a better plan to regulate the use of performance-enhancing drugs (Macur, 2007; Shipley, 2007). As teenagers continue to idolize and glorify these Olympic and professional sports figures, it is important that the sports world implement policy solutions that punish use of steroids rather than glorify the records that might result at least in part from their continued use. As Senator Orrin Hatch noted in an opinion piece in The Washington Post earlier this year, the real tragedy is that many young American athletes are following the poor example set by elite athletes (Hatch, 2008, para. 13). In fact, as McCallum (2008) notes in a recent Sports Illustrated piece, the Mayo Clinic has published information that one tenth of U.S. steroid users are teenagers, which by its estimate would put the figure at 300,000 (para. 25). To help combat this problem, the National Institute on Drug Abuse has been continuing its public awareness and prevention campaign targeted at teenage use of anabolic steroids (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2006). It is clear, however, that there is still much more to be done on the prevention front. In June of 2007, a substantial percentage of sports fans still felt that the leading professional sports of the world were not doing enough to prevent the use of performance-enhancing drugs by their athletes (67% of sports fans felt baseball was not doing enough to prevent the use of steroids, compared with 63% for football, 48% for basketball, 43% for track and field, 42% for cycling, and 31% for swimming; Gallup & USA Today, 2007). In fact, swimming was the only sport in which a slight majority of sports fans (51%) felt that enough was being done to prevent the use of performance-enhancing drugs (Gallup & USA Today, 2007).

10 Table 3 Poll Question: Do You Think Barry Bonds Should Be Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame? Gallup/CNN/USA Today CBS/The New York Times, 3/15 3/18/08 h Gallup/ USA Today, 2/21 2/24/08 g AP/ Ipsos, 5/29 6/6/07 f Gallup/ USA Today, 5/4 5/6/07 e ABC/ ESPN, 3/29 4/22/07 d Gallup/ USA Today, 12/8 12/10/06 c ABC/ ESPN, 7/19/06 8/5 3/10 8/7/05 a 3/12/06 b Yes 57% 49% 46% 48% 58% 62% 53% 46% 44% No 34% 43% 48% 44% 33% 33% 36% 50% 40% No opinion 9% 7% 6% 9% 8% 5% 11% 4% 14% N 1,004 1, ,009 2,219 1,010 2,000 2,021 1,067 a Question asked of baseball fans (47% of sample). b Question asked of baseball fans (47% of sample). c Question asked of baseball fans (41% of sample). d Question asked of baseball fans/somewhat of a fan (36%); survey of N = 2,219 with oversample of African Americans. e Question asked of fans of professional baseball (45% of sample). f Question asked of fans of professional baseball/somewhat of a fan (41% of sample). g Question asked of fans of professional baseball in Form A of split sample (43% of Form A). h Question asked of baseball fans (46% of sample); 2% indicated yes, but not on first ballot 453

11 454 Becker and Scheufele Players in the National Football League have not yet been as closely examined as the leading players in MLB. Only time will tell if the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs such as human growth hormone has done lasting damage to the world of professional sports, especially MLB, and has in turn affected the hearts and minds of American sports fans. Moreover, future evidence might confirm that the recreational use of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs has become a larger social problem, extending well beyond the world of competitive sport. In the meantime, it is important that key stakeholders policy makers, players, managers, coaches, and publicists alike consider the state of public opinion when trying to influence the media agenda and frame the debate on the issue of performance-enhancing-drug use in sport. Media messages that emphasize prevention, punishment, and reform might shift public opinion, allowing for a more positive outlook on the world of professional sport. For example, recent news coverage of the Tour de France s more stringent testing policy and suspension of players with questionable test results has painted the sport of cycling in a more favorable, or at least less controversial, light (Wyatt, 2008). Continued coverage of this kind should come to restore fans opinion of the sport, especially as the memory of Floyd Landis begins to fade (Macur, 2006). Similarly, stories describing feelings of remorse expressed by past offenders (as in the case of Yankees star Jason Giambi) minimize subsequent negative press coverage and suggest to fans that the administration of the respective sports is taking the steroids controversy seriously (Rhoden, 2008). Reports of suspensions for potential Olympic athletes show the public and young aspiring athletes, more specifically, that there are indeed significant consequences associated with even unintentional steroid abuse (Zinser, 2008). In addition, stories with added emphasis on the negative physiological effects of long-term steroid and performance- enhancingdrug use should help prevent continued and future use of performance-enhancing drugs by high school and college athletes. Taken together, promoting these more proactive and solution-oriented media frames allows key stakeholders to participate in setting the media agenda and work, in a more seamless fashion, to restore Americans faith in professional and Olympic sport. A more positive outlook should also reinforce MLB s privileged status as America s national pastime. Notes 1. All survey results are based on representative national samples of adults age 18 and older, unless otherwise noted. For many of the issues specific to MLB, a subsample of baseball fans and those who are very or somewhat interested in MLB was examined. With the exception of these subsamples of baseball fans and a few additional exceptions, the sample sizes of all surveys were at least 1,000 or more. Further information about these data can be obtained online from the Roper Center ipoll databank at html 2. In the late winter of 2008, only 53% of baseball fans indicated that they care a lot about professional baseball players using steroids and performance-enhancing drugs, a percentage that is likely reflective of the question being asked before the start of the 2008 baseball season (CBS & The New York Times, 2008).

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