Use the following article to answer these questions: "Interpretations and Explanations of Deviance Among College Athletes: A Case Study." How does the...

"Interpretations and Explanations of
Deviance
Among College Athletes: A Case Study" by Eldon E. Snyder was published in the

Sociology of Sport Journal in September 1994. The study seeks to
define and
analyze the factors that may have contributed to criminal actions
perpetrated by a group of
college athletes at a major American
university.

In the introductory
literature review, Snyder
summarizes the conclusions reached by sport sociologists in the 1960s,
70s,
and 80s: there is a negative relationship between athletic participation and
deviant
behavior. Explanations for the correlation include widely-held
cultural presumptions that the
dynamic between a coach and team members
encourages discipline and adherence to conventional
values, as well as a
differential association theory, which posits that athletes spend most of

their time with other athletes and therefore have fewer chances to interact with
societys more
corrupt influences.

When deviance does occur
among athletes, prior research
suggests that it is due to stimulus seeking
and sensation seeking behavior arising out of
boredom or a need to assert
ones masculinity, or else due to the tendency of sports to promote
excessive
commitment, which encourages behavior that pushes conventional
limits.

Snyder builds upon these studies with qualitative
data about a group of college
athletes who, in defiance of social
expectation, committed deviant actsprimarily burglariesover
a two year
period. Interpretations of Deviance analyzes evidence
relating
to:

emergent explanations
within a naturalistic setting
that includes the way family, friends,
officials, and the athletes interpreted the deviant
behavior

that is, rather than performing experiments to

test a priori theories, the case study explores the social context and expressed motives
of a
group of all-American white kids from middle- and upper-middle class
homes in upscale
midwestern suburbs.

The athletes are
deviant because they have subverted the
norms and values of their
socioeconomic class, undermined the presumption that sport builds
character,
and complicated the notion that athletes make good role models. Headlines at the
time
referred to them collectively as swimmers and athletes, promoting the
concept that their actions
were an aberrationout of character for the
traditional public image of high achievers. Quotes
attributed to university
officials and investigators note perceived incongruence between the
athletes
backgrounds and their criminal activities, and regularly referenceeven
complimentthe
students likability, wealth, and appearance.

The wider implication of the
case study relates to the hierarchy of
perceived deviance among disparate groups. Investigators
are baffled by the
potential motives of the athletes to steal items they could acquire legally

and without difficulty. The all-American white kids carry the presumption of
psychological
stresses, addiction, and a somewhat childlike need for
excitement. In contrast, offenses
committed by other identifiable groups or
classes, especially people of color and people who
earn lower incomes, are
less likely to be attributed to benign motivations.

Unlike
the student athletes whose group-affiliation carries social prestige,
criminal
behavior among poor people and people of color is often presumed.
Snyder notes that many of the
athletes received lenient sentences based on
the belief that they made a mistake. People
without their advantages are far
less likely to receive the same consideration. Societys primary
challenge is
to understand and rectify these disparities.

As you
consider
recent events that are relevant to this case study, I would suggest
thinking about the use of
rituals in group cohesion and how perception of the
groups respectability affects perception of
the rituals relative
deviance.

As an example, how do headlines and articles

that portray affluent members of college fraternities or sports teams who injure someone
during
a hazing ritual differ from those that portray young gang initiates
who injure someone during an
initiation ritual? Are the perpetrators
presented as guileless children or hardened criminals?
What kind of
photographs are used to show the public what they look like? How were they

sentenced?