Win at All Costs: Inside Nike Running and Its Culture of Deception

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Nilstad A, Andersen TE, Bahr R, Holme I, Steffen K. Risk factors for lower extremity injuries in elite female soccer players. Am J Sports Med. 2014;42(4):940–8.

Fuller CW, Hawkins RD. Assessment of football grounds for player safety. Saf Sci. 1997;27(2–3):115–28. Ramaeker, J., & Petrie, T. A. (2019). “Man up!”: Exploring intersections of sport participation, masculinity, psychological distress, and help-seeking attitudes and intentions. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 20(4), 515. All of the four studies reviewed on medicine usage awareness have high or excellent methodological quality. The main reason for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) ban on the use of certain medicines is because of an actual or potential health risk to the athlete [ 81]. Many elite athletes take non-doping-classified medicines for enhancing athletic performance or treating injuries. From an OSH perspective, a control measure can increase the occupational risk if it is not appropriately managed. In this case, there will be a potential source of harm or adverse health effect on elite athletes if the medicine is taken improperly. Injured athletes who fail to report an injury may take medicine to mask pain so they can continue training and competing [ 82]. By examining urine sample of athletes in the Olympic Games in Sydney 2000, a study pointed to a dangerous overuse of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents [ 83]. Blood sample measurements from athletes ( n = 330) in the 2004 New Zealand Ironman triathlon identified the prevalence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) was 30% [ 84]. Another study [ 85] has identified a high rate of non-prescribed use of NSAID consumption among triathletes from 23 different countries, but it was not specified how the questionnaires were distributed and collected. Among younger athletes, a study [ 86] reported nearly one of seven high school football players used NSAIDs daily, according to data from self-administered questionnaires. However, the incidence might be under-reported considering coaches distributed the questionnaires which may lead to bias. These studies indicate elite athletes frequently take incorrect doses for extended periods and are not aware of the potentially deleterious adverse effects. Elite athletes have also been shown to use NSAIDs the day before competing for pain prevention [ 85, 86], such as for delayed-onset muscle soreness [ 87] as a “prophylactic pain treatment” [ 88]. Medicine usage for pain prevention can be found in various sports such as American football [ 86], soccer [ 88], marathon running [ 89] and triathlon [ 84]. Anderson, of Heritage, declined to respond to questions about the group’s collaborations with Hoffman, instead sending a prepared statement: “After a year when voters’ trust in our elections plummeted, restoring that trust should be the top priority of legislators and governors nationwide. That’s why Heritage Action is deploying our established grassroots network for state advocacy for the first time ever. There is nothing more important than ensuring every American is confident their vote counts—and we will do whatever it takes to get there.”

When Popes and philosophers wax lyrical about the value of sport, they recognise the intrinsic value of sport to living an ethical life. Sport promises the development of virtue, the opportunity to overcome physical limitations and the opportunity to engage with your physical embodiment. Román, P. Á. L., Pinillos, F. G., & Robles, J. L. (2018). Early sport dropout: high performance in early years in young athletes is not related with later success. Retos: nuevas tendencias en educación física, deporte y recreación, (33), 210-212. A younger member of the organization, Charlie Kirk—a founder of Turning Point USA, which promotes right-wing ideas on school campuses—injected a note of optimism. He suggested that the pandemic, by closing campuses, would likely suppress voting among college students, a left-leaning bloc. “ Please keep the campuses closed,” he said, to cheers. “Like, it’s a great thing!” One can certainly argue that some of these tangential cases are relevant to what happened with the NOP; for example, a coach who has now been accused of abusing several of his former female athletes might have been emboldened by a sexist corporate environment. But when it comes to doping, Hart occasionally overstates the extent to which a “win-at-all-costs” mentality reflects a deep-seated malevolence, as opposed to a brand image that cares more about having the best athletes wear their product than being a beacon for “clean sport.” (When Hart visits the company’s corporate HQ, you half expect a Swoosh-laden Lucifer to be making rounds on the Hollister Trail.)

From the social dimension, the mass media can reinforce the image of the sport person by providing visual cues to audiences thus contributing to its role of “televised sports manhood formula” [ 163]. Some audiences prefer seeing sport violence that emphasises masculine hegemony [ 164] and this can, in turn, shape elite athletes’ behaviour. Even in female sport, a macho masculine-defined culture can be identified in the attitudes towards pain and injury [ 165]. The competitive culture driven by wider societal expectations of elite sport has become entrenched as one primary aspect of its own organisational culture. However, this situation can be augmented by adopting practices that engender a positive OSH culture, particularly in the processes relating to communication and consultation. Cusimano [ 139] deduced that long-term exposure to educational opportunities through coaches, parents and the media can make a bigger difference than short-term educational programmes. The active involvement of athletes’ families in the OSH process is essential to enhance their long-term wellbeing [ 166, 167]. It is essential for researchers to focus more on specific groups of elite athletes and their social milieu [ 162] to improve athletes’ OSH awareness multi-dimensionally. Individual factors

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Ernst B. Hazcom labeling.(workplace labeling systems as outlined in revised Hazard Communication Standard of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration). Safety & Health. Chicago: National Safety Council; 2013. p. 60. Shroyer J, Stewart C. Knowledge of concussions by high school coaches in a rural environment. Physical Educator. 2016;73(2):373. Ekenman I, Hassmén P, Koivula N, Rolf C, Felländer-Tsai L. Stress fractures of the tibia: can personality traits help us detect the injury-prone athlete? Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2001;11(2):87–95. Therkorn JH, Shendell DG. Evaluation and characterization of environmental risks and asthma management knowledge and awareness through surveys of coaches, athlete parents/guardians, and athletes. J Asthma Allergy Educ. 2012;3(3):106–16.