Dying to Win? The Goldman Dilemma in Legend and Fact
Date
2017
Authors
Moston, Stephen
Hutchinson, Brendan
Engelberg, Terry
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc.
Abstract
One of the implicit justifications for antidoping is that athletes are so committed to winning that they will take performance-enhancing substances regardless of the apparent consequences. Athletes are alleged to be, quite literally, willing to die to win. Support for this claim usually centers on the results of research by physician Bob Goldman, in which athletes were asked to respond to a hypothetical dilemma in which they were offered spectacular success in their chosen sport, but at a heavy price: they would die after five years of glory. In this paper, we examine the origins of this bargain, now popularly referred to as the Goldman dilemma, finding that both the methodology and implications of the original work have repeatedly been described inaccurately in both popular and scientific writings. These errors reflect both poor scholarship and deliberate misuse, where the flawed narrative is used to justify contentious policy decisions.
Description
Keywords
performance-enhancing drugs, antidoping, drug policy, WADA
Citation
Moston, S., Hutchinson, B., & Engelberg, T. (2017). Dying to Win? The Goldman Dilemma in Legend and Fact, International Journal of Sport Communication, 10(4), 429-443. Retrieved Dec 22, 2020, from https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijsc/10/4/article-p429.xml
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Source
International Journal of Sport Communication
Type
Journal article
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Access Statement
Open Access
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Restricted until
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