Scandals and sport

Scandals relating to sport are highly variable in nature, frequent and occupy extraordinary prominence in the media. If the essence of scandal lies in the nature of the transgressive act, then the role of the media can be reduced to that of the vector carrying information and analysis to the wider world. Sport scandals, always play in two directions, with conduct that is mostly out of sight suddenly and spectacularly brought into the media spotlight, while conduct that is available for all to see is scrutinised for hidden meanings that, in turn, are compulsively connected to what happens outside the live media frame. Sport is a form of popular culture that is extraordinarily susceptible to scandal of many kinds. Scandals in sport, while much deplored, are nonetheless integral elements of a mediated sports culture that noisily demands constant attention in a crowded popular cultural marketplace. The chapter argues that scandals in sport are not controversies arising from unpredictably aberrant behaviour.