All credits appearing on page or at the end of the book are considered to be an extension of the copyright page.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Coakley, Jay J.
Sports in society: issues and controversies / Jay Coakley, Ph.D., University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.—Eleventh edition. pages cm
ISBN 978-0-07-802252-4 (alk. paper)
1. Sports—Social aspects. 2. Sports—Psychological aspects. I. Title.
GV706.5.C63 2015
306.4’83—dc23
2013046643
The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a website does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw-Hill Education, and McGraw-Hill Education does not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites.
www.mhhe.com
To the memory of Ernie Barnes—a uniquely perceptive artist whose drawings and paintings capture the movement and spirit of athletic bodies in ways that inspire people worldwide.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jay Coakley is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. He received a Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Notre Dame and has since taught and done research on play, games, and sports, among other topics in sociology. Dr. Coakley has received many teaching, service, and professional awards, and is an internationally respected scholar, author, and journal editor. In 2007 the Institute for International Sport selected him as one of the 100 Most Influential Sports Educators, and the University of Chichester in West Sussex, England awarded him an Honorary Fellowship in recognition of his outstanding leadership in the sociology of sport; in 2009, the National Association for Sport and Physical Education inducted Coakley into its Hall of Fame.
A former intercollegiate athlete, Coakley continues to use concepts, research, and theories in sociology to critically examine social phenomena and promote changes that will make social worlds more democratic and humane. He currently lives in Fort Collins, Colorado with his wife, Nancy.
Jay Coakley and granddaughter, Ally, are running buddies in local Colorado races.
ABOUT THE COVER ARTIST
The cover image, His Effort, is a painting by the late Ernie Barnes (1938–2009), an internationally known artist, a former professional football player, and an unforgettable friend.
Barnes is best known for his unique figurative style of painting, and he is widely recognized as the foremost African American artist of his generation. His paintings first became known to millions of people when used as the cover theme for the hit television show Good Times and as the cover art on such popular albums as Marvin Gaye’s I Want You, Donald Byrd’s Donald Byrd and 125th Street, NYC, and B. B. King’s Making Love Is Good for You.
Barnes’s ability to capture the powerful energy and movement of sports earned him recognition as “America’s Best Painter of Sports” by the American Sports Museum. In 1984 he was appointed official artist for the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. His sports commissions include paintings for the Los Angeles Lakers, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Oakland Raiders, and New England Patriots, as well as a painting displayed at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the National Basketball Association.
One of the remarkable features of Barnes’s work is his use of elongation and distortion to represent energy, power, grace, intensity, and fluidity in his art. His sports background provided a distinct vantage point for observing bodies in movement, and he used his unique understanding of the human anatomy to portray not only athletes but everyday mannerisms in delayed motion. As a result, his images communicate an intimate sense of human physicality.
For many people, Ernie Barnes captures the spirit and determination of athletes as they express themselves through movement. His images present to us the kinesthetic soul of sports.
This is the sixth consecutive cover of Sports in Society that presents the art of Ernie Barnes. When Ernie spoke to students in Los Angeles, he usually brought copies of the book with him to show that art, sport, and academic learning could come together in their lives. This particular cover image was chosen to represent Barnes’s legacy based on his effort to represent the wonder and endurance of the human spirit.
Much of Barnes’s work can be viewed at ErnieBarnes.com. My thanks go to Ernie’s longtime friend and assistant, Luz Rodrigues, and his family for sharing His Effort for this edition of Sports in Society.
Preface xi
1
The Sociology of Sport: What Is It and Why Study It? 2
About This Book 4
About This Chapter 4
Using Sociology to Study Sports 4
Defining Sports 6
What Is the Sociology of Sport? 9
Why Study Sports in Society? 13
Summary: Why Study the Sociology of Sport? 21
2
Producing Knowledge About Sports in Society: What Is the Role of Research and Theory? 24
Producing Knowledge in the Sociology of Sport 26
Doing Research and Using Theory in the Sociology of Sport: A Case Study 28
The Impact of Sociology of Sport Knowledge 42
Using a Critical Approach to Produce Knowledge 44
Summary: How Is Knowledge Produced in the Sociology of Sport? 48
3
Sports and Socialization: Who Plays and What Happens to Them? 50
What Is Socialization? 52
Becoming and Staying Involved in Sports 54
Changing or Ending Sport Participation 58
Being Involved in Sports: What Happens? 62
How Do Sports Affect Our Lives? 68
Summary: Who Plays and What Happens? 77
4 Sports for Children: Are Organized Programs Worth the Effort? 80
Origin and Development of Organized Youth Sports 82
Major Trends in Youth Sports Today 86
Informal, Player-Controlled Sports: A Case of the Generation Gap 93
Youth Sports Today: Assessing Our Efforts 95
The Challenge of Improving Youth Sports 98
Recommendations for Improving Youth Sports 100
Summary: Are Organized Programs Worth the Effort? 102
5 Deviance in Sports: Is It Out of Control? 106
Defining and Studying Deviance in Sports 108
Challenges Faced When Studying Deviance in Sports 108
Research on Deviance in Sports 119
Performance-Enhancing Substances: A Case Study of Deviant Overconformity 130
Summary: Is Deviance in Sports Out of Control? 142
6 Violence in Sports: Does It Affect Our Lives? 146
What Is Violence? 148 Violence in Sports Throughout History 149
Violence on the Field 150
Violence off the Field 162
Violence Among Spectators 165
Terrorism: Planned Political Violence at Sport Events 173
Summary: Does Violence in Sports Affect Our Lives? 175
Race and Ethnicity: Are They Important in Sports? 224
Defining Race and Ethnicity 226
Creating Race and Racial Ideologies 227
Sport Participation Among Ethnic Minorities in the United States 240
Race, Ethnicity, and Sport in a Global Perspective 254
The Dynamics of Racial and Ethnic Relations in Sports 257
Summary: Are Race and Ethnicity Important in Sports? 261
9
Social Class: Do Money and Power Matter in Sports? 264
Social Class and Class Relations 266
Sports and Economic Inequality 267
Social Class and Sport Participation Patterns 273
Global Inequalities and Sports 284
Economic and Career Opportunities in Sports 286
Sport Participation and Occupational Careers Among Former Athletes 293
Summary: Do Money and Power Matter in Sports? 298
10 Age and Ability: Barriers to Participation and Inclusion? 302
What Counts as Ability? 304
Constructing the Meaning of Age 308
Constructing the Meaning of Ability 315
Sport and Ability 326
Disability Sports 331
Technology and Ability 340
To “Dis ” or Not to “Dis ” 345
Summary: Are Age and Ability Barriers to Participation? 346
11 Sports and the Economy: What Are the Characteristics of Commercial Sports? 350
Emergence and Growth of Commercial Sports 352
Commercialization and Changes in Sports 362
The Organization of Professional Sports in North America 367
The Organization of Amateur Sports in North America 375
Legal Status and Incomes of Athletes in Commercial Sports 377
Summary: What Are the Characteristics of Commercial Sports? 385
12 Sports and the Media: Could They Survive Without Each Other? 388
Characteristics of the Media 390
Sports and Media: A Two-Way Relationship 400
Images and Narratives in Media Sports 410
Experiences and Consequences of Consuming Media
Sports 419
Sport Journalism 423
Summary: Could Sports and the Media Survive Without Each Other? 425
13
Sports and Politics: How Do Governments and Global Political Processes Influence Sports? 428
The Sports–Government Connection 431
Sports and Global Political Processes 443
Politics in Sports 458
Summary: How Do Governments and Global Political Processes Influence Sports? 460
14
Sports in High School and College: Do Competitive Sports Contribute to Education? 462
Arguments for and Against Interscholastic Sports 464
Interscholastic Sports and the Experiences of High School Students 464
Intercollegiate Sports and the Experiences of College Students 472
Do Schools Benefit from Varsity Sports? 481
High School and College Sports Face Uncertainty 488
Summary: Do Competitive Sports Contribute to Education? 503
15
Sports and Religions: Is It a Promising Combination? 506
How Do Sociologists Define and Study Religion? 508
Similarities and Differences Between Sports and Religions 510
Modern Sports and Religious Beliefs and Organizations 513
The Challenges of Combining Sports and Religious Beliefs 530
Summary: Is It a Promising Combination? 535
16
Sports in the Future: What Do We Want Them to Be? 538
Envisioning Possibilities for the Future 540
Current Trends Related to Sports in Society 542
Factors Influencing Trends Today 546
Becoming Agents of Change 551
The Challenge of Transforming Sports 555
Summary: What Do We Want Sports to Be? 558
References 561
Name Index 648
Subject Index 663
PREFACE
PURPOSEOFTHISTEXT
The eleventh edition of Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies provides a detailed introduction to the sociology of sport. It uses sociological concepts, theories, and research to raise critical questions about sports and explore the dynamic relationship between sports, culture, and society. The chapters are organized around controversial and curiosity-arousing issues that have been systematically studied in sociology and related fields. Research on these issues is summarized so that readers can critically examine them.
Chapter content is guided by sociological research and theory and based on the assumption that a full understanding of sports must take into account the social and cultural contexts in which sports are created, played, given meaning, and integrated into people’s lives. At a time when we too often think that a “website search” provides everything we need to know, I intend this text as a thoughtful scholarly work that integrates research on sports as social phenomena, makes sense of the expanding body of work in the sociology of sport, and inspires critical thinking.
FORWHOMISITWRITTEN?
Sports in Society is written for everyone taking a first critical look at the relationships between sports, culture, and society. Readers don’t need a background in sociology to understand and benefit from discussions in each chapter; nor do
they need detailed knowledge of sport jargon and statistics. My goal is to help readers identify and explore issues related to sports in their personal experiences, families, schools, communities, and societies.
The emphasis on issues and controversies makes each chapter useful for people concerned with sport-related policies and programs. I’ve always tried to use knowledge to make sports more democratic, accessible, inclusive, and humane, and I hope to provide readers with the information and desire to do the same.
WRITINGTHISREVISION
As soon as the tenth edition of Sports in Society went to press I began research for this edition. This involves reading six newspapers each day, including USA Today, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Financial Times. I also read two sports magazines—Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine—and three or four other magazines that often carry articles about sports. But most of my research involves reading every abstract for every article published in the major journals dealing with sports as social phenomena. I regularly survey the tables of contents of a few dozen journals in sociology and related fields to find articles on sport-related topics. Although I do not read every article or every book in the field, I read many and take notes as I do.
Finally, I track photos that I might buy for the edition, and I take thousands of photos myself,
always hoping to have ten to twenty new ones for each new edition. I regularly ask friends to take photos if they are in unique sport settings. In the final photo selection I usually review 250 photos for every one I choose to include in the book.
In all, this amounts to thousands of hours of research, writing, and discussing issues with people from many walks of life in the United States and other parts of the world I’ve had opportunities to visit.
CHANGESTOTHISELEVENTHEDITION
This edition is new in many respects, and most sections of the book, including tables and figures, have been updated. However, as new material was added, other material had to be deleted or put in the Online Learning Center. New chapter-opening quotes, photos, and examples maintain the timeliness of content. This edition also is more carefully and clearly linked with the corresponding website (www.mhhe.com/ coakley11e), and the Online Learning Center contains additional substantive materials related to each chapter topic.
New research and theoretical developments are integrated into each chapter. There are about 1400 new references included in this edition— nearly 2200 references in all—to assist those writing papers and doing research. Most new references identify materials published since the manuscript for the previous edition left my hands. The sociology of sport has expanded so much in recent years that Sports in Society is now an introduction to the field more than a comprehensive overview.
RevisionThemesandNewMaterials
This edition presents reorganized chapter openers consisting of a photo, provocative quotes from popular sources, a brief Chapter Outline, and Learning Objectives. At the end of each chapter are new lists of Supplemental Readings
that are featured in the Online Learning Center (OLC), along with selected sport management discussion issues related to the chapter content.
The most significant change in this edition is a new chapter on age and ability. Research and knowledge about variations in sport participation patterns by age and abilities have increased dramatically over the past decade. This serves as a foundation for discussions of how and why participation declines after early adolescence and is consistently low among people with specific physical or intellectual impairments. There are detailed discussions of age- and ability-segregated events, such as Masters competitions for older people and the Paralympics and Special Olympics for people with impairments currently defined as performance-limiting in sports. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the use of movement enabling technologies in sports.
Another major change is that the chapter on gender is rewritten so the coverage of ideological issues and structural inequities (for girls and women) matches the sequence used in the chapters on race and ethnicity, social class, and age and ability. This continuity enables readers to see similarities in the dynamics of exclusion and inclusion across these socially significant attributes.
Chapter 1 now introduces “the great sport myth”—the widespread belief that all sports are essentially pure and good, and that their purity and goodness are transferred to those who participate in or watch sports. This concept helps readers understand how and why sports are perceived in such positive terms worldwide and why it is difficult to promote critical thinking about sports in society. References to the great sport myth appear in most of the chapters. Chapter 1 also has a new explanation of ideology to give readers a clearer idea of how sports are cultural practices linked with our everyday lives and other spheres of society.
Chapter 2 contains new figures on the knowledge production process and the primary data collection methods in sociology of sport
research. There is a new explanation of gender as meaning, performance, and organization in social worlds, and new discussions of the differences between quantitative and qualitative research and the use of the telephone for conducting interviews. There is a new section, “The Impact of Sociology of Sport Knowledge,” that explains why we do research and produce knowledge about sports in society. A new Reflect on Sports box focuses on “Critical Feminist Theory Today: From the Margins to Mainstream.”
The history chapter from the tenth edition is now accessible through the OLC, and the chapter on socialization is now Chapter 3, following the knowledge production chapter. It contains a new section on “Family Culture and the Sport Participation of Children,” which examines families as the immediate contexts in which socialization into sports is initiated and nurtured. There also are new discussions of the transition out of competitive sports careers, of recent research on the sport experiences of gay and lesbian athletes, and current approaches to sports and socialization as a community process.
Chapter 4, on youth sports, presents a new discussion of how the culture of childhood play has nearly disappeared in most segments of post-industrial society. There’s also an expanded discussion of the possibility that in the United States some upper-middle-class parents use youth sports as a way to create mobility opportunities and reproduce privilege for their children. Finally, there is a discussion of how and why youth sports in the United States are programmatically fragmented and exist independently of any theory-based approach to teaching ageappropriate physical skills and promoting lifelong involvement in sports and physical activities.
Chapter 5, on deviance, contains a new discussion of the relationship between deviant overconformity and injuries, concussions, and repetitive head trauma in sports. There’s also an explanation of how widespread acceptance of the great sports myth leads people to deny or ignore certain forms of deviance in sports and
use punitive social control methods that focus on individuals rather than the systemic problems that exist in various forms of sport. This is followed by a discussion of new surveillance technologies being used to police and control athletes, especially in connection with the use of performance-enhancing substances.
Chapter 6, on violence in sports, contains new discussions of the NFL’s investigation of players’ and coaches’ alleged use of bounties as incentives to injure opponents and why violent sports have become commercially successful in certain cultures. The issue of concussions and head trauma is also discussed in connection with the culture of violence that is widely accepted in heavy-contact sports. The highly publicized violent sexual assault involving members of the high school football team in Steubenville, Ohio, is also discussed relative to issues of gender and violence. Finally, there is an expanded discussion of how the threat of terrorism is perceived and how it influences the dynamics of social control at sport events.
Chapter 7, on gender and sports, introduces the concept of orthodox gender ideology to help readers understand the cultural origins of gender inequality and why sports are one of the last spheres of social life in which the two-sex approach is accepted in a way that normalizes gender segregation. The term orthodox is used to show that this view of gender represents a way of thinking that many people have internalized as unchanging “truth” and often link to their religious beliefs or an overall sense of right and wrong. This chapter also contains a new section on “Progress Toward Gender Equity,” which identifies girls’ and women’s increased participation as the single most dramatic change in sports over the past two generations. There is an updated Reflect on Sports box that examines Title IX compliance and “what counts as equity in sports.” A new Reflect on Sports box deals with how football impacts policies and progress toward gender equity. A new table presents data on female and male athletes at recent
Paralympic Games, and a new section, “The Global Women’s Rights Movement,” discusses the belief that girls and women are enhanced as human beings when they develop their intellectual and physical abilities. New discussions of the media coverage of women in sports and the impact of budget cuts and the privatization of sports are presented to show that programs for women and girls remain vulnerable to cuts because they lack a strong market presence and have not been profit producing.
Chapter 8, on race and ethnicity, presents a revised discussion of how racial ideology influences sports participation. There is a new Reflect on Sports box dealing with “Vénus Noire: A legacy of Racism After 200 years,” and a new discussion of the isolation often experienced by women of color participating in or coaching college sports. New research is presented to show the ways that some Japanese parents use youth sports leagues to establish relationships with other Japanese families and connect their children with Asian American peers. Finally, there is a new section on race, ethnicity, and sports in a global perspective in which efforts to control the expression of racism at sport events is discussed.
Chapter 9, on social class, has expanded discussions of whether building a new stadium triggers new jobs for the surrounding community and how the economic downturn has impacted sports participation in the United States. There is a new discussion of research on whether local boxing gyms help participants bond with one another and acquire forms of social capital that alter their structural position in society, as well as a new discussion of data on the impact of wealth, as opposed to income, on sport participation patterns.
Chapter 10, written with Elizabeth Pike, my colleague from the University of Chichester in England, is new and focuses on issues and controversies related to age and ability in sports. The framework of this chapter is built on research showing how social definitions of age and ability impact the provision of sport participation
opportunities and the decisions made by people to become involved and stay involved in sports. The sections on masters events, the Paralympics, the Special Olympics, and related forms of sport provision illustrate the complexity of sports when they are viewed in a general social and cultural context in which age and ability influence how people are perceived and they include physical activities in their lives.
Chapter 11 deals with the commercialization of sports. It contains a new section on how the NFL and other major sport organizations have used their nonprofit status to avoid paying taxes while they generate billions of dollars in income and pay executives up to $30 million per year. There also is a discussion of how the great sport myth is used to appropriate public money to build sport venues and subsidize sport teams. Labor relations in sports are discussed in more depth, with explanations of collective bargaining agreements, lockouts, and the role of players’ associations.
Chapter 12, on sports and the media, contains much new material on the changing media landscape and how it is related to sports. There is a new discussion of fantasy sports as an arena in which participation is influenced by gender and the quest to sustain white male privilege. There’s also new material on how social media are used by established sport organizations and by athletes practicing parkour and other emerging sport activities around the world. A new section focuses on the rapid escalation of media rights fees and how they are driving up the costs for cable and satellite TV providers and consumers. Changes in media coverage are discussed, with attention given to how masculinity and sexuality are presented in sports media. Finally, there is a new discussion of how entertainment journalism has replaced investigative journalism in sports media.
Chapter 13, on politics, government, and global processes, is updated in its coverage of sport and national identity in global relations, and how the Olympics and men’s World Cup
have become tools for generating profits for the International Olympic Committee and FIFA at the same time that the countries hosting these games incur increasing debt for debatable returns. Research on recent sport megaevents is used to discuss the challenges and the pros and cons of hosting such events. There is an expanded discussion of the new political realities of sports—where team ownership and event sponsorship have become global in scope, where athletes seek opportunities worldwide, where global media make it easy to follow the sporting events of teams from all over the world, and where fans’ loyalties are no longer limited to teams from their own regions or countries. Research is presented to show that these realities are linked with corporate expansion, the global flow of capital, the business strategy of global media companies, and processes of glocalization through which global sports are integrated into people’s everyday lives on a local level.
Chapter 14, on high school and college sports, includes new research findings related to issues such as the rising costs of sport programs, who benefits from the revenues generated by certain sports, the dramatic increase of inequality between programs at both the high school and college levels, and young people’s perceptions of athletic and academic achievement in schools with high-profile sport programs. There also are new sections on budget issues and the uncertainty that faces school sports today, and the issues currently faced by the NCAA as it tries to control a college sport system that is increasingly unmanageable and inconsistent with the goals of higher education.
Chapter 15, on religion and sports, presents new information on world religions and how they influence conceptions of the body, evaluations of physical movement, and sport participation. There also is updated information about the ways in which individuals and organizations combine sport with religious beliefs, and how this has spread beyond the United States in recent years.
Chapter 16 has been shortened and now focuses primarily on the process of making change in sports rather than describing what the future of sports might be. This is because there is a need for us to acknowledge the power of corporations in shaping sports to fit their interests and to develop strategies for creating sport forms that directly serve the needs of individuals and communities.
SupplementalReadingsandNewWebsite Resources
Each chapter is followed by a list of Supplemental Readings that provide useful information about topics in the chapters. The Supplemental Readings have been expanded for each chapter and can be found in the Online Learning Center (OLC).
NewVisualMaterials
There are 120 photos, 20 figures, and 31 cartoons in this edition; 61 of the photos are new. These images are combined with new diagrams, figures, and tables to illustrate important substantive points, visually enhance the text, and make reading more interesting.
OnlineLearningCenter
The website www.mhhe.com/coakley11e is an important feature associated with the eleventh edition of Sports in Society. The site contains general information about this edition, along with links to supplemental materials associated with each chapter. Those materials include
• Supplemental Readings that add depth and background to current chapter topics
• Group projects
• Previous chapters on coaches, competition, history (from the 10th edition), and social theories (from the 9th edition)
• True/false self-tests for each chapter
• A cumulative 230-page bibliography that lists all references from this and the last six editions of Sports in Society
• A complete glossary of key terms integrated into the index
ANCILLARIES
Instructor’sManualandTestBank
An instructor’s manual and test bank are available to assist those using Sports in Society in college courses. It includes the following:
• Chapter outlines. These are full outlines that provide a section-by-section topic list for each chapter. They are useful for test reviews and organizing lectures, and they may be reproduced and given to students as study guides.
• Test questions (multiple choice). These questions are designed to test students’ awareness of the central concepts and ideas in each chapter. For the instructor with large classes, these questions are useful for creating chapter and midterm tests, as well as final exams.
• Discussion/essay questions. These questions can be used for tests or to generate classroom discussions. They’re designed to encourage students to synthesize and apply materials in one or more of the sections in each chapter. None of the questions asks the students to simply list points or give definitions.
ComputerizedTestBank
A computerized version of the test bank for the instructor’s manual is available in both IBM and Macintosh formats to qualified adopters. This software provides a unique combination of userfriendly aids and enables the instructor to select, edit, delete, or add questions and to construct and print tests and answer keys.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book draws on ideas from many sources. Thanks go to students, colleagues, and friends who have provided constructive criticisms over the years. Students regularly open my eyes to new ways of viewing and analyzing sports as social phenomena. Special thanks go to friends and colleagues who influence my thinking, provide valuable source materials, and willingly discuss ideas and information with me. Elizabeth Pike, Chris Hallinan, and Cora Burnett influenced my thinking as I worked with them on versions of Sports in Society for the United Kingdom, Australia/ New Zealand, and Southern Africa, respectively. Peter Donnelly, co-author of past Canadian versions, has provided special support for this edition and influenced my thinking about many important issues. Laurel Davis-Delano deserves special thanks for her constructive critiques of recent past editions. Thanks also go to photographers and colleagues, Lara Killick, Barbara Schausteck de Almeida, Elizabeth Pike, Bobek Ha’Eri, Becky Beal, Kevin Young, Jay Johnson Michael Collins, Tim Russo, Basia Borzecka and my daughter, Danielle Hicks, for permission to use their photos. Once again, I thank Ossur (www.ossur.com)—a company that designs and manufactures prosthetics and orthotics—for photos used in this and previous editions. Rachel Spielberg, a recent Smith College grad, coach, and artist contributed new cartoons to this edition; thanks to her for working with me.
Thanks also to Nicole Bridge, who organized my often heavily revised drafts for production, and to Jessica Portz and Sara Jaeger who coordinated this edition through a slalom-like course of deadlines.
Finally, thanks go to Nancy Coakley, my life partner and best friend, who has lived through eleven editions of Sports in Society and assisted with each one in more ways than I can list here. She keeps me in touch with popular culture sources related to sports, and tells me when my ideas should be revised or kept to myself—a frequent occurrence.
My appreciation also goes to the following reviewers, whose suggestions were crucial in planning and writing this edition:
Maureen Smith, California State University–Sacramento State
Brooke Estabrook–Fishinghawk, Texas Tech University
Mark Vermillion, Wichita State University
Thomas Rotolo, Washington State University
Andrew Meyer, Baylor University
Marc Postiglione, Union County College
Gary Sailes, Indiana University
Finally, thanks to the many students and colleagues who have e-mailed comments about previous editions and ideas for future editions. I take them seriously and appreciate their thoughtfulness—keep the responses coming.
Jay Coakley
Fort Collins, CO
This page intentionally left blank
SPORTS IN SOCIETY
(Source: Jay Coakley)
THE SOCIOLOGY OF SPORT
What Is It and Why Study It?
Our sports belong to us. They came up from the people. They were invented for reasons having nothing to do with money or ego. Our sports weren’t created by wealthy sports and entertainment barons like the ones running sports today.
—Ken Reed, Sport Policy Director, League of Fans (2011).
HOW DO YOU distinguish sports from entertainment, fakery from reality, when the two are so inseparable?
—Selena Roberts , sports journalist, The New York Times (2007)
Competitive cheer may, some time in the future, qualify as a sport under Title IX. Today, however, the activity is still too underdeveloped and disorganized to be treated as offering genuine varsity athletic participation opportunities for students.
—U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill (in Moltz, 2010)
Sports is real. . . . Sports is Oprah for guys. . . . Sports is woven deeper into American life than you know. You may change religion or politics, but not sport teams.
—Rick Reilly (2009)
Chapter Outline
AboutThisBook
AboutThisChapter
UsingSociologytoStudySports
DefiningSports
WhatIstheSociologyofSport?
WhyStudySportsinSociety?
Summary:WhyStudytheSociologyofSport?
Learning Objectives
• Explain what sociologists study about sports and why sociology of sport knowledge is different from information in sports media and everyday conversations.
• Understand issues related to defining sports and why a sociological definition differs from official definitions used by high schools and universities.
• Explain what it means to say that sports are social constructions and contested activities.
• Explain why sociology of sport knowledge may be controversial among people associated with sports.
• Understand the meaning of “ideology” and how ideologies related to gender, race, social class, and disability are connected with sports.
ABOUTTHISBOOK
If you’re reading this book, you have an interest in sports or know people who play or watch them. Unlike most books about sports, this one is written to take you beyond scores, statistics, and sports personalities. The goal is to focus on the “deeper game” associated with sports, the game through which sports become part of the social and cultural worlds in which we live.
Fortunately, we can draw on our emotions and experiences as we consider this deeper game. Take high school sports in the United States as an example. When students play on a high school basketball team, we know that it can affect their status in the school and the treatment they receive from both teachers and peers. We know it has implications for their prestige in the community, self-images and self-esteem, future relationships, opportunities in education and the job market, and their overall enjoyment of life.
Building on this knowledge enables us to move further into the deeper game associated with high school sports. For example, why do so many Americans place such importance on sports and accord such high status to elite athletes? Are there connections between high school sports and widespread beliefs about masculinity and femininity, achievement and competition, pleasure and pain, winning and fair play, and other important aspects of U.S. culture?
Underlying these questions is the assumption that sports are more than games, meets, and matches. They’re important aspects of social life that have meanings going far beyond scores and performance statistics. Sports are integral parts of the social and cultural contexts in which we live, and they provide stories and images that many of us use to evaluate our experiences and the world around us.
Those of us who study sports in society are concerned with these deeper meanings and stories associated with sports. We do research to increase our understanding of (1) the cultures
and societies in which sports exist; (2) the social worlds created around sports, and (3) the experiences of individuals and groups associated with sports.
ABOUTTHISCHAPTER
This chapter is organized to answer four questions:
1. What is sociology, and how is it used to study sports in society?
2. What are sports, and how can we identify them in ways that increase our understanding of their place and value in society?
3. What is the sociology of sport?
4. Who studies sports in society, and for what purposes?
The answers to these questions will be our guides for understanding the material in the rest of the book.
USINGSOCIOLOGYTOSTUDYSPORTS
Sociology provides useful tools for investigating sports as social phenomena. This is because sociology is the study of the social worlds that people create, maintain, and change through their relationships with each other.1 The concept of social world refers to an identifiable sphere of everyday actions and relationships (Unruh, 1980). Social worlds are created by people, but they involve much more than individuals doing their own things for their own reasons. Our actions, relationships, and collective activities form patterns that could not be predicted only with information about each of us as individuals. These patterns constitute identifiable ways of life and social arrangements that
1Important concepts used in each chapter are identified in boldface. Unless they are accompanied by a footnote that contains a definition, the definition will be given in the text itself. This puts the definition in context rather than separating it in a glossary. Definitions are also provided in the Subject Glindex.
are maintained or changed over time as people interact with one other.
Social worlds can be as large and impersonal as an entire nation, such as the United States or Brazil, or as personal and intimate as your own family. But regardless of size, they encompass all aspects of social life: (a) the values and beliefs that we use to make sense of our lives; (b) our everyday actions and relationships; and (c) the groups, organizations, communities, and societies that we form as we make choices, develop relationships, and participate in social life.
Sociologists often refer to society, which is a relatively self-sufficient collection of people who maintain a way of life in a particular territory. In most cases, a society and a nation are one and the same, such as Brazil and Brazilian society. But there are cases where a society is not a nation, such as Amish Mennonite society as it exists in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and other parts of the United States.
The goal of sociology is to describe and explain social worlds, including societies—how they are created, re-created, and changed; how they are organized; and how they influence our lives and our relationships with each other. In the process of doing sociology we learn to see our lives and the lives of others “in context”—that is, in the social worlds in which we live. This enables us to identify the social conditions that set limits or create possibilities in people’s lives. On a personal level, knowing about these influential conditions also helps us anticipate and sometimes work around the constraints we face at the same time that we look for and take advantage of the possibilities. Ideally, it helps us gain more control over our lives as well as an understanding of other people and the conditions that influence their lives.
KeySociologyConcepts
Sociologists use the concepts of culture, social interaction, and social structure to help them understand sports as social activities.
Culture consists of the shared ways of life and shared understandings that people develop as they live together. Once a culture exists, it influences relationships and social interaction.
Social interaction consists of people taking each other into account and, in the process, influencing each other’s feelings, thoughts, and actions. Through interaction we learn to anticipate the thoughts and actions of others and predict how others may respond to what we think and do.
Social structure consists of the established patterns of relationships and social arrangements that take shape as people live, work, and play with each other. This is the basis for order and organization in all social worlds.
These three concepts—culture, social interaction, and social structure—represent the central interconnected aspects of all social worlds. For example, a high school soccer team is a social world formed by players, coaches, team parents, and regular supporters. Over time every team creates and maintains a particular culture or a way of life consisting of values, beliefs, norms, and everyday social routines. Everyone involved with the team engages in social interaction as they take each other into account during their everyday activities on and off the playing field. Additionally, the recurring actions, relationships, and social arrangements that emerge as these people interact with each other make up the social structure of the team. This combination of culture, social interaction, and social structure comprises the team as a social world, and it is connected with the larger social world in which it exists.
Peer groups, cliques, and athletic teams are social worlds in which participants are known to one another. Communities, societies, concert crowds, and online chat rooms are social worlds in which participants are generally unknown to each other. This means that the boundaries of social worlds may be clear, fuzzy, or overlapping, but we generally know when we enter or leave a social world because each has identifying features related to culture, social interaction, and social structure.
We move back and forth between familiar social worlds without thinking. We make nearly automatic shifts in how we talk and act as we accommodate changing cultural, interactional, and structural features in each social world. However, when we enter or participate in a new or unfamiliar social world, we usually pay special attention to what is happening. We watch what people are doing, how they interact with each other, and we develop a sense of the recurring patterns that exist in their actions and relationships. If you’ve done this, then you’re ready to use sociology to study sports in society.
SociologicalKnowledgeIsBased onResearchandTheory
My goal in writing this book is to accurately represent research in the sociology of sport and discuss issues of interest to students. At a time when online searches provide us with infinite facts, figures, and opinions about sports, I am primarily interested in the knowledge produced through systematic research. I use newspaper articles and other media as sources for examples, but I depend on research results when making substantive points and drawing conclusions. This means that my statements about sports and sport experiences are based, as much as possible, on studies that use surveys, questionnaires, interviews, observations, content analyses, and other accepted methods of research in sociology.
The material in this book is different than material in blogs, talk radio, television news shows, game and event commentaries, and most of our everyday conversations about sports. It is organized to help you critically examine sports as they exist in people’s lives. I use research findings to describe and explain as accurately as possible the important connections between sports, society, and culture. I try to be fair when using research to make sense of the social aspects of sports and sport experiences. This is why over
1700 sources are cited as references for the information and analysis in this book.
Of course, I want to hold your attention as you read, but I don’t exaggerate, purposely withhold, or present information out of context to impress you and boost my “ratings.” In the process, I hope you will extend your critical thinking abilities so you can assess what people believe and say about sports in society. This will enable you to make informed decisions about sports in your life and the social worlds in which you live.
DEFININGSPORTS
Most of us know enough about the meaning of sports to talk about them with others. However, when we study sports, it helps to precisely define our topic. For example, is it a sport when young people choose teams and play a baseball game in the street or when thirty people of various ages spend an afternoon learning and performing tricks at a skateboard park? These activities are sociologically different from what occurs at major league baseball games and X Games skateboard competitions. These differences become significant when parents ask if playing sports builds the character of their children, when community leaders ask if they should use tax money to fund sports, and when school principals ask if sports are valid educational activities.
When I say that I study sports, people ask if that includes jogging, double-dutch, weight lifting, hunting, scuba diving, darts, auto racing, chess, poker, ultimate fighting, paintball, piano competitions, ballroom dancing, skateboarding, Quidditch, and so on. To respond is not easy, because there is no single definition that precisely identifies sports in all cultures at all times. According to definitions used widely in North America and much of Europe, sports are physical activities that involve challenges or competitive contests. They are usually organized so that
Is “Competitive Cheer” or cheerleading a sport? The answer to this question is important because it will impact the budgets, participation rates, and gender equity decisions in U.S. high school and college sport programs. Sociologists study why certain activities are considered to be sports in particular social worlds, who has the power to make such decisions, and how those decisions affect people’s lives. (Source: Jay Coakley)
participants can assess their performances and compare them to the performances of others or to their own performances from one situation to another. However, the organization, meaning, and purpose of sports often vary from one cultural context to another.
Some sports are organized to emphasize free-flowing, playful action and exist primarily for the pleasure of the participants. Examples include 5K fun runs, spontaneous games of Ultimate in open areas, and skateboarding in the streets or local skate parks. In contrast, other sports are organized to include scheduled and regulated action with participants displaying their skills for the pleasure of spectators. These include professional and other elite sports that people follow through media and pay to see in person. NFL games, matches in professional soccer leagues, and major golf tournaments are examples.
Most sports, however, are organized in ways that fall somewhere between these two extremes.
They are formally organized and, even though people may watch them, they exist mostly for participants, who enjoy them, value the skills needed to play them, and receive external rewards, such as peer or family approval, social status, or formal awards for playing them. Softball leagues, scheduled volleyball tournaments, and most organized youth sports are examples.
Scholars who study sports as social phenomena generally use a flexible and inclusive definition of sport. Although past research in the sociology of sport has focused mainly on what you and I would describe as “organized sports,” current research often focuses on physical culture, which includes all forms of movement and physical activities that people in particular social worlds create, sustain, and regularly include in their collective lives. This could be tai chi done in a Beijing park, capoeira in a Sao Paulo plaza, parkour in a Paris neighborhood, or break-dancing in New York City’s Central Park. Of course, organized sports are a central and often dominant component of physical culture in many societies today, but it has not always been this way and there continue to be societies in which traditional folk games and expressive forms of movement are more important than formally organized, competitive sports. Research on physical culture is important because it helps us understand how people think and feel about their bodies and how they define movement and integrate it into their lives (Dworkin and Wachs, 2009; Silk and Andrews, 2011). Additionally, it provides a foundation for critically examining the deeper game associated with sports in society.
OfficialDefinitionsofSports
Defining sport in official terms and choosing specific activities that qualify as sports is an important process in organizations, communities, and societies. Being classified as an official sport gives special status to an activity and is likely to increase participation, funding, community support, and
general visibility. For example, in Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries, walking, bicycling, and certain forms of general exercise are considered to be “sports.” Therefore, those who participate regularly in these activities often see themselves as “sportspersons” and are treated that way by their peers. Additionally, public policies are likely to provide common spaces for these activities and financial support for events that include them.
The official definitions of sport used by organizations and officials in the United States are more exclusive in that they give priority to formally organized, competitive activities. Therefore, even though walking is encouraged for general health purposes, most people in the U.S. would not consider walking a sport, nor would they ever describe walkers as sportspersons. This is important because it also may mean that walking trails and walking events will receive much less financial and political support than stadiums and arenas in which elite and professional sports are played and watched—because these are seen as the “real” or official sports.
According to most people in the United States, Canada, and a growing number of other societies, sports involve rules, competition, scoring, winners and losers, schedules and seasons, records, coaches, referees, and governing bodies that set rules and sponsor championships. Additionally, organizations such as local park and recreation departments, state high school athletic federations, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the United States Olympic Committee use their own criteria for defining sport and selecting activities for official recognition as sports for purposes of funding and support.
Official definitions of sport have important implications. When a definition emphasizes rules, competition, and high performance, many people will be excluded from participation, decide that they are not fit to play, or avoid other physical activities that are defined as “second class.” For example, when a 12-year-old is cut from an exclusive club soccer team, she may
not want to play in the local league sponsored by the park and recreation department because she sees it as “recreational activity” rather than a real sport. This can create a situation in which most people are physically inactive at the same time that a small number of people perform at relatively high levels for large numbers of spectators—a situation that negatively impacts health and increases health-care costs in a society or community. When sport is defined to include a wide range of physical activities that are played for pleasure and integrated into local expressions of social life, physical activity rates will be high and overall health benefits are likely.
SportsAreSocialConstructions
Understanding the sociology of sport is easier if you learn to think of sports as social constructions—that is, as parts of the social world that are created by people as they interact with one another under particular social, political, and economic conditions. This means that the kinds of sports that exist and gain popularity in particular social worlds often tell us much about the values and orientations of those who play, watch, or sponsor them. They also tell us about who has power in a social world.
Just as defining and identifying official sports is part of a political process, with outcomes that benefit some people more than others, so is the process of creating and sustaining sports in a social world. This becomes apparent when we examine the struggles that often occur over whose ideas will be used when making decisions about the following sport-related issues:
1. What is the meaning and primary purpose of sports, and how should sports be organized to fit that meaning and purpose?
2. Who will play sports with whom, and under what conditions will they play?
3. What agencies or organizations will sponsor and control sports?
Heated debates occur when people disagree on these issues. History shows that some
of these debates have caused bitter feelings and led to lawsuits, government intervention, and the passage of laws. For example, people often disagree about the meaning, purpose, and organization of cheerleading in U.S. high schools. Most school officials say that cheerleading is not a sport because its primary purpose is to support high school teams. But others argue that the cheerleaders at many schools are now organized as teams, they train like other athletes, and they compete in championships and bring recognition and rewards to their schools. This debate over the purpose of cheerleading will continue because the stakes are high: being designated an official high school sport brings funding and other support that affects the organization of cheerleading and the meaning it has in schools, communities, and American society.
Disagreements and struggles over the purpose, meaning, and organization of sports occur most often when they involve the funding priorities of government agencies (Eichberg, 2008). For example, if the primary purpose of sport is to improve health and fitness for everyone, then funding should go to sports that provide widespread recreational participation resulting in net positive effects on physical well-being. But if people see sports as “wars without weapons” with the purpose being to push the limits of human ability, then funding should go to sports organized to produce high-performance athletes who can achieve competitive victories. This issue is regularly contested at the national and local levels of government, in universities and public school districts, and even in families, as parents decide how to use their resources to support their children’s physical activities.
These examples show that sports are contested activities—that is, activities for which there are no timeless and universal agreements about what they mean, why they exist, or how they should be organized. This is also illustrated by historical disagreements over who is allowed to play sports and the conditions under which certain people can play. Cases involving
extended struggles are listed in the box, “Who Plays and Who Doesn’t” (p. 10).
The third issue that makes sports contested activities focuses on who should provide the resources needed to play them and who should control them. When people see sports contributing to the common good, it is likely that sport facilities and programs will be supported by government agencies and tax money. When people see sports as primarily contributing to to individual development, it is likely that sport facilities and programs will be supported by individuals, families, and private-corporate sponsors. However, in both cases there will be struggles over the extent to which sponsors control sports and the extent to which sports are organized to be consistent with community values.
Struggles over these three issues show that using a single definition of sports may lead us to overlook important factors in a particular social world, such as who has power and resources and how meanings are given to particular activities at different times in a community or society. Being aware of these factors enables us to put sports into context and understand them in the terms used by those who create, play, and support them. It also helps us see that the definition of sports in any particular context usually represents the ideas and interests of some people more than others. In the sociology of sport, this leads to questions and research on whose ideas and interests count the most when it comes to determining (1) the meaning, purpose, and organization of sports; (2) who plays under what conditions, and (3) how sports will be sponsored and controlled. Material in each of the following chapters summarizes the findings of this research.
WHATISTHESOCIOLOGYOFSPORT?
The sociology of sport is primarily a subdiscipline of sociology and physical education that studies sports as social phenomena. Most research and writing in the field focuses on “organized,
reflect on SPORTS
Who Plays and Who Doesn’t Contesting a Place in Sports
Being cut from a youth sport team is a disappointing personal experience. But being in a category of people that is wholly excluded from all or some sports is more than disappointing—it is unfair and occasionally illegal. Most cases of categorical exclusion are related to gender and sexuality, skin color and ethnicity, ability and disability, age and weight, nationality and citizenship, and other “eligibility” criteria. Struggles occur in connection with questions such as these:
• Will females be allowed to play sports and, if they are, will they play the same sports at the same time and on the same teams that males play, and will the rewards for achievement be the same for females and males?
• Will sports be open to people regardless of social class and wealth? Will wealthy and poor people play and watch sports together or separately?
• Will people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds play together or in segregated settings? Will the meanings given to skin color or ethnicity influence participation patterns or opportunities to play sports?
• Will age influence eligibility to play sports, and should sports be age integrated or segregated?
competitive sports,” although people increasingly study other forms of physical activities that are health and fitness oriented and informally organized. These include recreational, extreme, adventure, and virtual sports as well as fitness and exercise activities (Atkinson, 2007, 2009; Honea, 2007; Kusz, 2007; Leonard, 2009; Mincyte, Casper, and Cole, 2009; Mansfield, 2009; Peterson, 2008; Rinehart, 2000; Rinehart and Syndor, 2003; Skille, 2010; Thorpe and Wheaton, 2011a, 2011b, 2013; Vivoni, 2009; Wheaton, 2013).
Research in the sociology of sport generally seeks to answer the following questions:
Will people of different ages have the same access to participation opportunities?
• Will able-bodied people and people with disabilities have the same opportunities to play sports, and will they play together or separately? What meanings will be given to the accomplishments of athletes with disabilities compared to the accomplishments of able-bodied athletes?
• Will lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transsexuals play alongside heterosexuals and, if they do, will they be treated fairly?
• Will athletes control the conditions under which they play sports and have the power to change those conditions to meet their needs and interests?
• Will athletes be rewarded for playing, what form will the rewards take, and how will they be determined?
Federal and local laws may mandate particular answers to these questions. However, traditions, local customs, and personal beliefs often support various forms of exclusion. The resulting struggles illustrate that sports can be hotly contested activities. What forms of formal or informal exclusion remain in sports and are they justifiable?
1. Why are some activities, and not others, selected and designated as sports in particular groups and societies?
2. Why are sports created and organized in different ways at different times and in different places?
3. How do people include sports and sport participation in their lives, and does participation affect individual development and social relationships?
4. How do sports and sport participation affect our ideas about bodies, human movement work, fun, social class, masculinity and femininity, race and ethnicity, ability and
Another random document with no related content on Scribd:
man in evening dress, with a ledger before him. The new arrival shut the door carefully after him; it clicked to, on a spring-lock. Advancing to the desk, he announced, "Number Twenty-one, sir," and stood respectfully waiting. The big man looked up, showing the number 1 startlingly white on his velvet mask. His eyes, of a curious hard blue, scanned Rogers attentively. At a sign from him, Rogers removed his mask. Having verified his identity with care, the President said, "Very well, Number Twenty-one," and made an entry in the ledger. The voice was hard and metallic, like his eyes. The close scrutiny from behind the immovable black mask seemed to make Rogers uneasy; he shifted his feet, and his eyes fell. Number One made a sign of dismissal, and Rogers, with a faint sigh as though of relief, replaced his mask and left the room. As he came out, the next comer passed in in his place.
The room in which the Society met was a large one, made by knocking the two largest of the first-floor rooms into one. It was furnished in the standardised taste of twentieth-century suburbia and brilliantly lighted. A gramophone in one corner blared out a jazz tune, to which about ten couples of masked men and women were dancing, some in evening dress and others in tweeds and jumpers.
In one corner of the room was an American bar. Rogers went up and asked the masked man in charge for a double whisky. He consumed it slowly, leaning on the bar. The room filled. Presently somebody moved across to the gramophone and stopped it. He looked round. Number One had appeared on the threshold. A tall woman in black stood beside him. The mask, embroidered with a white 2, covered hair and face completely; only her fine bearing and her white arms and bosom and the dark eyes shining through the eye-slits proclaimed her a woman of power and physical attraction.
"Ladies and gentlemen." Number One was standing at the upper end of the room. The woman sat beside him; her eyes were cast down and betrayed nothing, but her hands were clenched on the arms of the chair and her whole figure seemed tensely aware.
"Ladies and gentlemen. Our numbers are two short to-night." The masks moved; eyes were turned, seeking and counting. "I need not
inform you of the disastrous failure of our plan for securing the plans of the Court-Windlesham helicopter. Our courageous and devoted comrades, Number Fifteen and Number Forty-eight, were betrayed and taken by the police."
An uneasy murmur rose among the company.
"It may have occurred to some of you that even the well-known steadfastness of these comrades might give way under examination. There is no cause for alarm. The usual orders have been issued, and I have this evening received the report that their tongues have been effectually silenced. You will, I am sure, be glad to know that these two brave men have been spared the ordeal of so great a temptation to dishonour, and that they will not be called upon to face a public trial and the rigours of a long imprisonment."
A hiss of intaken breath moved across the assembled members like the wind over a barley-field.
"Their dependants will be discreetly compensated in the usual manner. I call upon Numbers Twelve and Thirty-four to undertake this agreeable task. They will attend me in my office for their instructions after the meeting. Will the Numbers I have named kindly signify that they are able and willing to perform this duty?"
Two hands were raised in salute. The President continued, looking at his watch:
"Ladies and gentlemen, please take your partners for the next dance."
The gramophone struck up again. Rogers turned to a girl near him in a red dress. She nodded, and they slipped into the movement of a fox-trot. The couples gyrated solemnly and in silence. Their shadows were flung against the blinds as they turned and stepped to and fro.
"What has happened?" breathed the girl in a whisper, scarcely moving her lips. "I'm frightened, aren't you? I feel as if something awful was going to happen."
"It does take one a bit short, the President's way of doing things," agreed Rogers, "but it's safer like that."
"Those poor men——"
A dancer, turning and following on their heels, touched Rogers on the shoulder
"No talking, please," he said. His eyes gleamed sternly; he twirled his partner into the middle of the crowd and was gone. The girl shuddered.
The gramophone stopped. There was a burst of clapping. The dancers again clustered before the President's seat.
"Ladies and gentlemen. You may wonder why this extraordinary meeting has been called. The reason is a serious one. The failure of our recent attempt was no accident. The police were not on the premises that night by chance. We have a traitor among us."
Partners who had been standing close together fell distrustfully apart. Each member seemed to shrink, as a snail shrinks from the touch of a finger.
"You will remember the disappointing outcome of the Dinglewood affair," went on the President, in his harsh voice. "You may recall other smaller matters which have not turned out satisfactorily All these troubles have been traced to their origin. I am happy to say that our minds can now be easy. The offender has been discovered and will be removed. There will be no more mistakes. The misguided member who introduced the traitor to our Society will be placed in a position where his lack of caution will have no further ill-effects. There is no cause for alarm."
Every eye roved about the company, searching for the traitor and his unfortunate sponsor. Somewhere beneath the black masks a face must have turned white; somewhere under the stifling velvet there must have been a brow sweating, not with the heat of the dance. But the masks hid everything.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please take your partners for the next dance."
The gramophone struck into an old and half-forgotten tune: "There ain't nobody loves me." The girl in red was claimed by a tall mask in
evening dress. A hand laid on Roger's arm made him start. A small, plump woman in a green jumper slipped a cold hand into his. The dance went on.
When it stopped, amid the usual applause, everyone stood, detached, stiffened in expectation. The President's voice was raised again.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please behave naturally. This is a dance, not a public meeting."
Rogers led his partner to a chair and fetched her an ice. As he stooped over her, he noticed the hurried rise and fall of her bosom.
"Ladies and gentlemen." The endless interval was over. "You will no doubt wish to be immediately relieved from suspense. I will name the persons involved. Number Thirty-seven!"
A man sprang up with a fearful, strangled cry.
"Silence!"
The wretch choked and gasped.
"I never—I swear I never—I'm innocent."
"Silence. You have failed in discretion. You will be dealt with. If you have anything to say in defence of your folly, I will hear it later. Sit down."
Number Thirty-seven sank down upon a chair. He pushed his handkerchief under the mask to wipe his face. Two tall men closed in upon him. The rest fell back, feeling the recoil of humanity from one stricken by mortal disease.
The gramophone struck up.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I will now name the traitor Number Twentyone, stand forward."
Rogers stepped forward. The concentrated fear and loathing of fortyeight pairs of eyes burned upon him. The miserable Jukes set up a fresh wail.
"Oh, my God! Oh, my God!"
"Silence! Number Twenty-one, take off your mask."
The traitor pulled the thick covering from his face. The intense hatred of the eyes devoured him.
"Number Thirty-seven, this man was introduced here by you, under the name of Joseph Rogers, formerly second footman in the service of the Duke of Denver, dismissed for pilfering. Did you take steps to verify that statement?"
"I did—I did! As God's my witness, it was all straight. I had him identified by two of the servants. I made enquiries. The tale was straight—I'll swear it was."
The President consulted a paper before him, then he looked at his watch again.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please take your partners...."
Number Twenty-one, his arms twisted behind him and bound, and his wrists hand-cuffed, stood motionless, while the dance of doom circled about him. The clapping, as it ended, sounded like the clapping of the men and women who sat, thirsty-lipped, beneath the guillotine.
"Number Twenty-one, your name has been given as Joseph Rogers, footman, dismissed for theft. Is that your real name?"
"No."
"What is your name?"
"Peter Death Bredon Wimsey."
"We thought you were dead."
"Naturally. You were intended to think so."
"What has become of the genuine Joseph Rogers?"
"He died abroad. I took his place. I may say that no real blame attaches to your people for not having realised who I was. I not only took Roger's place; I was Rogers. Even when I was alone, I walked like Rogers, I sat like Rogers, I read Rogers's books, and wore Rogers's clothes. In the end, I almost thought Rogers's thoughts.
The only way to keep up a successful impersonation is never to relax."
"I see. The robbery of your own flat was arranged?"
"Obviously."
"The robbery of the Dowager Duchess, your mother, was connived at by you?"
"It was. It was a very ugly tiara—no real loss to anybody with decent taste. May I smoke, by the way?"
"You may not. Ladies and gentlemen...."
The dance was like the mechanical jigging of puppets. Limbs jerked, feet faltered. The prisoner watched with an air of critical detachment.
"Numbers Fifteen, Twenty-two and Forty-nine. You have watched the prisoner. Has he made any attempts to communicate with anybody?"
"None." Number Twenty-two was the spokesman. "His letters and parcels have been opened, his telephone tapped, and his movements followed. His water-pipes have been under observation for Morse signals."
"You are sure of what you say?"
"Absolutely."
"Prisoner, have you been alone in this adventure? Speak the truth, or things will be made somewhat more unpleasant for you than they might otherwise be."
"I have been alone. I have taken no unnecessary risks."
"It may be so. It will, however, be as well that steps should be taken to silence the man at Scotland Yard—what is his name?—Parker. Also the prisoner's manservant, Mervyn Bunter, and possibly also his mother and sister. The brother is a stupid oaf, and not, I think, likely to have been taken into the prisoner's confidence. A precautionary watch will, I think, meet the necessities of his case."
The prisoner appeared, for the first time, to be moved.
"Sir, I assure you that my mother and sister know nothing which could possibly bring danger on the Society."
"You should have thought of their situation earlier Ladies and gentlemen, please take——"
"No—no!" Flesh and blood could endure the mockery no longer. "No! Finish with him. Get it over. Break up the meeting. It's dangerous. The police——"
"Silence!"
The President glanced round at the crowd. It had a dangerous look about it. He gave way.
"Very well. Take the prisoner away and silence him. He will receive Number 4 treatment. And be sure you explain it to him carefully first."
"Ah!"
The eyes expressed a wolfish satisfaction. Strong hands gripped Wimsey's arms.
"One moment—for God's sake let me die decently."
"You should have thought this over earlier. Take him away. Ladies and gentlemen, be satisfied—he will not die quickly."
"Stop! Wait!" cried Wimsey desperately. "I have something to say. I don't ask for life—only for a quick death. I—I have something to sell."
"To sell?"
"Yes."
"We make no bargains with traitors."
"No—but listen! Do you think I have not thought of this? I am not so mad. I have left a letter."
"Ah! now it is coming. A letter. To whom?"
"To the police. If I do not return to-morrow——"
"Well?"
"The letter will be opened."
"Sir," broke in Number Fifteen. "This is bluff. The prisoner has not sent any letter. He has been strictly watched for many months."
"Ah! but listen. I left the letter before I came to Lambeth."
"Then it can contain no information of value."
"Oh, but it does."
"What?"
"The combination of my safe."
"Indeed? Has this man's safe been searched?"
"Yes, sir."
"What did it contain?"
"No information of importance, sir. An outline of our organisation— the name of this house—nothing that cannot be altered and covered before morning."
Wimsey smiled.
"Did you investigate the inner compartment of the safe?"
There was a pause.
"You hear what he says," snapped the President sharply. "Did you find this inner compartment?"
"There was no inner compartment, sir. He is trying to bluff."
"I hate to contradict you," said Wimsey, with an effort at his ordinary pleasant tone, "but I really think you must have overlooked the inner compartment."
"Well," said the President, "and what do you say is in this inner compartment, if it does exist?"
"The names of every member of this Society, with their addresses, photographs, and finger-prints."
"What?"
The eyes round him now were ugly with fear. Wimsey kept his face steadily turned towards the President.
"How do you say you have contrived to get this information?"
"Well, I have been doing a little detective work on my own, you know."
"But you have been watched."
"True. The finger-prints of my watchers adorn the first page of the collection."
"This statement can be proved?"
"Certainly. I will prove it. The name of Number Fifty, for example——" "Stop!"
A fierce muttering arose. The President silenced it with a gesture.
"If you mention names here, you will certainly have no hope of mercy. There is a fifth treatment—kept specially for people who mention names. Bring the prisoner to my office. Keep the dance going."
The President took an automatic from his hip-pocket and faced his tightly fettered prisoner across the desk.
"Now speak!" he said.
"I should put that thing away, if I were you," said Wimsey contemptuously. "It would be a much pleasanter form of death than treatment Number 5, and I might be tempted to ask for it."
"Ingenious," said the President, "but a little too ingenious. Now, be quick; tell me what you know."
"Will you spare me if I tell you?"
"I make no promises. Be quick."
Wimsey shrugged his bound and aching shoulders.
"Certainly. I will tell you what I know. Stop me when you have heard enough."
He leaned forward and spoke low. Overhead the noise of the gramophone and the shuffling of feet bore witness that the dance
was going on. Stray passers-by crossing the Heath noted that the people in the lonely house were making a night of it again.
"Well," said Wimsey, "am I to go on?"
From beneath the mask the President's voice sounded as though he were grimly smiling.
"My lord," he said, "your story fills me with regret that you are not, in fact, a member of our Society. Wit, courage, and industry are valuable to an association like ours. I fear I cannot persuade you? No—I supposed not."
He touched a bell on his desk.
"Ask the members kindly to proceed to the supper-room," he said to the mask who entered.
The "supper-room" was on the ground-floor, shuttered and curtained. Down its centre ran a long, bare table, with chairs set about it.
"A Barmecide feast, I see," said Wimsey pleasantly. It was the first time he had seen this room. At the far end, a trap-door in the floor gaped ominously.
The President took the head of the table.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he began, as usual—and the foolish courtesy had never sounded so sinister—"I will not conceal from you the seriousness of the situation. The prisoner has recited to me more than twenty names and addresses which were thought to be unknown, except to their owners and to me. There has been great carelessness"—his voice rang harshly—"which will have to be looked into. Finger-prints have been obtained—he has shown me the photographs of some of them. How our investigators came to overlook the inner door of this safe is a matter which calls for enquiry."
"Don't blame them," put in Wimsey "It was meant to be overlooked, you know. I made it like that on purpose."
The President went on, without seeming to notice the interruption.
"The prisoner informs me that the book with the names and addresses is to be found in this inner compartment, together with certain letters and papers stolen from the houses of members, and numerous objects bearing authentic finger-prints. I believe him to be telling the truth. He offers the combination of the safe in exchange for a quick death. I think the offer should be accepted. What is your opinion, ladies and gentlemen?"
"The combination is known already," said Number Twenty-two.
"Imbecile! This man has told us, and has proved to me, that he is Lord Peter Wimsey. Do you think he will have forgotten to alter the combination? And then there is the secret of the inner door If he disappears to-night and the police enter his house——"
"I say," said a woman's rich voice, "that the promise should be given and the information used—and quickly. Time is getting short."
A murmur of agreement went round the table.
"You hear," said the President, addressing Wimsey. "The Society offers you the privilege of a quick death in return for the combination of the safe and the secret of the inner door."
"I have your word for it?"
"You have."
"Thank you. And my mother and sister?"
"If you in your turn will give us your word—you are a man of honour —that these women know nothing that could harm us, they shall be spared."
"Thank you, sir. You may rest assured, upon my honour, that they know nothing. I should not think of burdening any woman with such dangerous secrets—particularly those who are dear to me."
"Very well. It is agreed—yes?"
The murmur of assent was given, though with less readiness than before.
"Then I am willing to give you the information you want. The word of the combination is UNRELIABILITY."
"And the inner door?"
"In anticipation of the visit of the police, the inner door—which might have presented difficulties—is open."
"Good! You understand that if the police interfere with our messenger——"
"That would not help me, would it?"
"It is a risk," said the President thoughtfully, "but a risk which I think we must take. Carry the prisoner down to the cellar. He can amuse himself by contemplating apparatus Number 5. In the meantime, Numbers Twelve and Forty-six——"
"No, no!"
A sullen mutter of dissent arose and swelled threateningly.
"No," said a tall man with a voice like treacle. "No—why should any members be put in possession of this evidence? We have found one traitor among us to-night and more than one fool. How are we to know that Numbers Twelve and Forty-six are not fools and traitors also?"
The two men turned savagely upon the speaker, but a girl's voice struck into the discussion, high and agitated.
"Hear, hear! That's right, I say How about us? We ain't going to have our names read by somebody we don't know nothing about. I've had enough of this. They might sell the 'ole lot of us to the narks."
"I agree," said another member. "Nobody ought to be trusted, nobody at all."
The President shrugged his shoulders.
"Then what, ladies and gentlemen, do you suggest?"
There was a pause. Then the same girl shrilled out again:
"I say Mr. President oughter go himself. He's the only one as knows all the names. It won't be no cop to him. Why should we take all the risk and trouble and him sit at home and collar the money? Let him go himself, that's what I say."
A long rustle of approbation went round the table.
"I second that motion," said a stout man who wore a bunch of gold seals at his fob. Wimsey smiled as he looked at the seals; it was that trifling vanity which had led him directly to the name and address of the stout man, and he felt a certain affection for the trinkets on that account.
The President looked round.
"It is the wish of the meeting, then, that I should go?" he said, in an ominous voice.
Forty-five hands were raised in approbation. Only the woman known as Number Two remained motionless and silent, her strong white hands clenched on the arm of the chair.
The President rolled his eyes slowly round the threatening ring till they rested upon her.
"Am I to take it that this vote is unanimous?" he enquired.
The woman raised her head.
"Don't go," she gasped faintly
"You hear," said the President, in a faintly derisive tone. "This lady says, don't go."
"I submit that what Number Two says is neither here nor there," said the man with the treacly voice. "Our own ladies might not like us to be going, if they were in madam's privileged position." His voice was an insult.
"Hear, hear!" cried another man. "This is a democratic society, this is. We don't want no privileged classes."
"Very well," said the President. "You hear, Number Two. The feeling of the meeting is against you. Have you any reasons to put forward in favour of your opinion?"
"A hundred. The President is the head and soul of our Society. If anything should happen to him—where should we be? You"—she swept the company magnificently with her eyes—"you have all blundered. We have your carelessness to thank for all this. Do you think we should be safe for five minutes if the President were not here to repair your follies?"
"Something in that," said a man who had not hitherto spoken.
"Pardon my suggesting," said Wimsey maliciously, "that, as the lady appears to be in a position peculiarly favourable for the reception of the President's confidences, the contents of my modest volume will probably be no news to her. Why should not Number Two go herself?"
"Because I say she must not," said the President sternly, checking the quick reply that rose to his companion's lips. "If it is the will of the meeting, I will go. Give me the key of the house."
One of the men extracted it from Wimsey's jacket-pocket and handed it over.
"Is the house watched?" he demanded of Wimsey. "No."
"That is the truth?"
"It is the truth."
The President turned at the door.
"If I have not returned in two hours' time," he said, "act for the best to save yourselves, and do what you like with the prisoner. Number Two will give orders in my absence."
He left the room. Number Two rose from her seat with a gesture of command.
"Ladies and gentlemen. Supper is now considered over Start the dancing again."
Down in the cellar the time passed slowly, in the contemplation of apparatus Number 5. The miserable Jukes, alternately wailing and raving, at length shrieked himself into exhaustion. The four members guarding the prisoners whispered together from time to time.
"An hour and a half since the President left," said one.
Wimsey glanced up. Then he returned to his examination of the room. There were many curious things in it, which he wanted to memorise.
Presently the trap-door was flung open. "Bring him up!" cried a voice. Wimsey rose immediately, and his face was rather pale.
The members of the gang were again seated round the table. Number Two occupied the President's chair, and her eyes fastened on Wimsey's face with a tigerish fury, but when she spoke it was with a self-control which roused his admiration.
"The President has been two hours gone," she said. "What has happened to him? Traitor twice over—what has happened to him?"
"How should I know?" said Wimsey. "Perhaps he has looked after Number One and gone while the going was good!"
She sprang up with a little cry of rage, and came close to him.
"Beast! liar!" she said, and struck him on the mouth. "You know he would never do that. He is faithful to his friends. What have you done with him? Speak—or I will make you speak. You two, there—bring the irons. He shall speak!"
"I can only form a guess, madame," replied Wimsey, "and I shall not guess any the better for being stimulated with hot irons, like Pantaloon at the circus. Calm yourself, and I will tell you what I think. I think—indeed, I greatly fear—that Monsieur le Président in his
hurry to examine the interesting exhibits in my safe may, quite inadvertently, no doubt, have let the door of the inner compartment close behind him. In which case——"
He raised his eyebrows, his shoulders being too sore for shrugging, and gazed at her with a limpid and innocent regret.
"What do you mean?"
Wimsey glanced round the circle.
"I think," he said, "I had better begin from the beginning by explaining to you the mechanism of my safe. It is rather a nice safe," he added plaintively. "I invented the idea myself—not the principle of its working, of course; that is a matter for scientists—but just the idea of the thing.
"The combination I gave you is perfectly correct as far as it goes. It is a three-alphabet thirteen-letter lock by Bunn & Fishett—a very good one of its kind. It opens the outer door, leading into the ordinary strong-room, where I keep my cash and my Froth Blower's cuff-links and all that. But there is an inner compartment with two doors, which open in quite a different manner. The outermost of these two inner doors is merely a thin steel skin, painted to look like the back of the safe and fitting closely, so as not to betray any join. It lies in the same plane as the wall of the room, you understand, so that if you were to measure the outside and the inside of the safe you would discover no discrepancy. It opens outwards with an ordinary key, and, as I truly assured the President, it was left open when I quitted my flat."
"Do you think," said the woman sneeringly, "that the President is so simple as to be caught in a so obvious trap? He will have wedged open that inner door undoubtedly."
"Undoubtedly, madame. But the sole purpose of that outer inner door, if I may so express myself, is to appear to be the only inner door. But hidden behind the hinge of that door is another door, a sliding panel, set so closely in the thickness of the wall that you would hardly see it unless you knew it was there. This door was also left open. Our revered Number One had nothing to do but to walk
straight through into the inner compartment of the safe, which, by the way, is built into the chimney of the old basement kitchen, which runs up the house at that point. I hope I make myself clear?"
"Yes, yes—get on. Make your story short."
Wimsey bowed, and, speaking with even greater deliberation than ever, resumed:
"Now, this interesting list of the Society's activities, which I have had the honour of compiling, is written in a very large book—bigger, even, than Monsieur le Président's ledger which he uses downstairs. (I trust, by the way, madame, that you have borne in mind the necessity of putting that ledger in a safe place. Apart from the risk of investigation by some officious policeman, it would be inadvisable that any junior member of the Society should get hold of it. The feeling of the meeting would, I fancy, be opposed to such an occurrence.)"
"It is secure," she answered hastily. "Mon dieu! get on with your story."
"Thank you—you have relieved my mind. Very good. This big book lies on a steel shelf at the back of the inner compartment. Just a moment. I have not described this inner compartment to you. It is six feet high, three feet wide, and three feet deep. One can stand up in it quite comfortably, unless one is very tall. It suits me nicely—as you may see, I am not more than five feet eight and a half. The President has the advantage of me in height; he might be a little cramped, but there would be room for him to squat if he grew tired of standing. By the way, I don't know if you know it, but you have tied me up rather tightly."
"I would have you tied till your bones were locked together. Beat him, you! He is trying to gain time."
"If you beat me," said Wimsey, "I'm damned if I'll speak at all. Control yourself, madame; it does not do to move hastily when your king is in check."
"Get on!' she cried again, stamping with rage.
"Where was I? Ah! the inner compartment. As I say, it is a little snug —the more so that it is not ventilated in any way. Did I mention that the book lay on a steel shelf?"
"You did."
"Yes. The steel shelf is balanced on a very delicate concealed spring. When the weight of the book—a heavy one, as I said—is lifted, the shelf rises almost imperceptibly. In rising it makes an electrical contact. Imagine to yourself, madame; our revered President steps in—propping the false door open behind him—he sees the book—quickly he snatches it up. To make sure that it is the right one, he opens it—he studies the pages. He looks about for the other objects I have mentioned, which bear the marks of fingerprints. And silently, but very, very quickly—you can imagine it, can you not?—the secret panel, released by the rising of the shelf, leaps across like a panther behind him. Rather a trite simile, but apt, don't you think?"
"My God! oh, my God!" Her hand went up as though to tear the choking mask from her face. "You—you devil—devil! What is the word that opens the inner door? Quick! I will have it torn out of you— the word!"
"It is not a hard word to remember, madame—though it has been forgotten before now. Do you recollect, when you were a child, being told the tale of 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'? When I had that door made, my mind reverted, with rather a pretty touch of sentimentality, in my opinion, to the happy hours of my childhood. The words that open the door are—'Open Sesame'."
"Ah! How long can a man live in this devil's trap of yours?"
"Oh," said Wimsey cheerfully, "I should think he might hold out a few hours if he kept cool and didn't use up the available oxygen by shouting and hammering. If we went there at once, I dare say we should find him fairly all right."
"I shall go myself. Take this man and—do your worst with him. Don't finish him till I come back. I want to see him die!"
"One moment," said Wimsey, unmoved by this amiable wish. "I think you had better take me with you."
"Why—why?"
"Because, you see, I'm the only person who can open the door."
"But you have given me the word. Was that a lie?"
"No—the word's all right. But, you see, it's one of these new-style electric doors. In fact, it's really the very latest thing in doors. I'm rather proud of it. It opens to the words 'Open Sesame' all right—but to my voice only."
"Your voice? I will choke your voice with my own hands. What do you mean—your voice only?"
"Just what I say. Don't clutch my throat like that, or you may alter my voice so that the door won't recognise it. That's better. It's apt to be rather pernickety about voices. It got stuck up for a week once, when I had a cold and could only implore it in a hoarse whisper. Even in the ordinary way, I sometimes have to try several times before I hit on the exact right intonation."
She turned and appealed to a short, thick-set man standing beside her.
"Is this true? Is it possible?"
"Perfectly, ma'am, I'm afraid," said the man civilly. From his voice Wimsey took him to be a superior workman of some kind—probably an engineer.
"Is it an electrical device? Do you understand it?"
"Yes, ma'am. It will have a microphone arrangement somewhere, which converts the sound into a series of vibrations controlling an electric needle. When the needle has traced the correct pattern, the circuit is completed and the door opens. The same thing can be done by light vibrations equally easily."
"Couldn't you open it with tools?"
"In time, yes, ma'am. But only by smashing the mechanism, which is probably well protected."
"You may take that for granted," interjected Wimsey reassuringly She put her hands to her head.
"I'm afraid we're done in," said the engineer, with a kind of respect in his tone for a good job of work.
"No—wait! Somebody must know—the workmen who made this thing?"
"In Germany," said Wimsey briefly.
"Or—yes, yes, I have it—a gramophone. This—this—he—shall be made to say the word for us. Quick—how can it be done?"
"Not possible, ma'am. Where should we get the apparatus at halfpast three on a Sunday morning? The poor gentleman would be dead long before——"
There was a silence, during which the sounds of the wakening day came through the shuttered windows. A motor-horn sounded distantly.
"I give in," she said. "We must let him go. Take the ropes off him. You will free him, won't you?" she went on, turning piteously to Wimsey. "Devil as you are, you are not such a devil as that! You will go straight back and save him!"
"Let him go, nothing!" broke in one of the men. "He doesn't go to peach to the police, my lady, don't you think it. The President's done in, that's all, and we'd all better make tracks while we can. It's all up, boys. Chuck this fellow down the cellar and fasten him in, so he can't make a row and wake the place up. I'm going to destroy the ledgers. You can see it done if you don't trust me. And you, Thirty, you know where the switch is. Give us a quarter of an hour to clear, and then you can blow the place to glory."
"No! You can't go—you can't leave him to die—your President—your leader—my—I won't let it happen. Set this devil free. Help me, one of you, with the ropes——"
