@article{ref1,
title="Alcohol-related player behavioral transgressions: incidences, fan media responses, and a harm-reduction alternative",
journal="International review for the sociology of sport",
year="2014",
author="Smith, Aaron CT and Stavros, Constantino and Westberg, Kate and Wilson, Brad and Boyle, Colleen",
volume="49",
number="3-4",
pages="400-416",
abstract="This article examines fan social media responses to media-reported, alcohol-related player behavioral transgressions that occurred in Australia's two largest professional sporting leagues, the National Rugby League (NRL) and the Australian Football League (AFL), over a 33-month period. Using netnography and content analysis, the study aimed to better understand the ways in which sport fans employed social media to voice their perceptions about alcohol-related player transgressions. The article reports on parochial fans' commentaries about alcohol-related transgressions and uses these data to inform options for harm-reduction strategies associated with alcohol-related transgressions in sport. Sport fans expressed dissatisfaction when they observed disparity in policy responses from clubs and leagues. At the same time, the data show that fan responses reflect a desire for parity and protection more than punishment, with the former more relevant to game, club, and league reputation than the latter. We suggest that a harm-reduction policy offers one mechanism for managing reputation through a focus on parity and protection. We argue that the introduction of a harm-reduction approach would offer a more effective policy for managing player alcohol-related transgressions than the current 'ad hoc' approach.<p/> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1012-6902",
doi="10.1177/1012690213515663",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1012690213515663"
}