Dramaturgical and ethnographic studies of cheating in sports

• straipsnio tekstas

ENIn this article, a dramaturgical and ethnographic approach is invoked to reveal the authentic chess (sub)culture. The analysis shows that chess players as well as other athletes invent many euphemistic techniques to show that their acts are not deviant: sportsmen might say that underperforming is a sacrifice for common good; that at times it is better to preserve fighting spirit than to condemn seemingly suspicious acts; that questionable practice in sport is a form of creativity, etc. Such techniques might sometimes be necessary if one wants to remain within the sport’s subculture. On the other hand, similar methods resemble the techniques of neutralization as well as Baumanian loss of sensitivity. Naturally, it is not easy to determine when actions that appear to be part of the legitimate tactics of the sport have become deviant and thus punishable. Keywords: chess, cheating, match-fixing, dramaturgical approach, ethnography. [From the publication]

• Teisė / Law
• Sociologija / Sociology
• Etnologija / Ethnology