Tenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

Across many professional sports, athletes’ substance use has generated controversy. Many sports fans clearly disapprove of athletes’ use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), such as anabolic steroids, but less is known regarding fans’ perceptions of athletes’ use of cannabis, which is not typically considered a PED. Although many American states have legalized medical and recreational cannabis, it still remains illegal at the federal level. Given the public’s increased acceptance of medical and recreational use of cannabis in the last decade, it’s possible that sports fans’ perceptions of cannabis use by athletes may show similar changes, particularly with respect to medical use. We propose a novel experiment to examine sports fans’ perceptions of cannabis use by professional athletes. Specifically, we seek to examine the reactions of National Football League (NFL) fans through a case of a fictitious athlete who is described as using cannabis for one of three reasons: to treat a physical injury, to treat a psychological disorder, or to use recreationally. We will measure fans’ preexisting attitudes toward cannabis use, their level of team identification, and perceptions of the fictitious athlete’s use of cannabis. We will examine attitudes toward cannabis use and level of team identification as potential moderating variables between type of use and fans’ reactions to that use. We expect that fans who have more favorable preexisting attitudes toward cannabis use and higher levels of team identification will rate the athlete’s usage as less objectionable.