SOPHIE JOHN
ST07002392
SCHOOL OF SPORT
UNIVERSITY OF WALES INSTITUTE CARDIFF
AN EXPLORATION OF CAREER ENDING
SPORTING INJURY AND THE LOSS OF ATHLETIC
IDENTITY IN ONE ELITE RUGBY PLAYER.
Contents
Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………..I
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………ii
CHAPTER ONE:
1.0 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….1
CHAPTER TWO:
2.0 Literature review…………………………………………………………………………..3
2.1 The body & identity
2.2 Identity construction in sport
2.3 Sociology & injury
2.4 Masculinity & injury
2.5 Threats posed upon sporting careers
2.6 Compulsory retirement from sport
2.7 Life beyond sport
2.8 Conclusion
CHAPTER THREE:
3.0 Method & methodology……………………………………………………………………12
3.1 Choosing a qualitative approach
3.2 Sampling & Access
3.3 Data Collection
3.4 Data Analysis
3.5 Judgement Criteria
3.6 Ethical Issues
CHAPTER FOUR:
4.0 Findings……………………………………………………………………………………………..18
4.1 Athletic identity
4.2 Masculinity & injury/Injury normalisation
4.3 The athletic body vs. The disabled body
4.4 Compulsory Retirement
4.5 Life beyond sport/Exploring new identities
CHAPTER FIVE:
5.0 Discussion………………………………………………………………………………………….27
5.1 The body & identity
5.2 Identity construction in sport
5.3 Sociology & injury
5.4 Masculinity & injury
5.5 Threats posed upon sporting careers
5.6 Compulsory retirement from sport
5.7 Life beyond sport
CHAPTER SIX:
6.0 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………..36
6.1 Limitations
6.2 Future research suggestions
References…………………………………………………………………………………………………….38
List of Appendices:
Appendix A
Consent form
Appendix B
Participant information sheet
Appendix C
Interview guide
Appendix D
Interview transcript
Acknowledgements
I would like to dedicate this research project to Cranogwen Llewellyn, who I
know would have loved to have read this; I hope that I have made you very
proud.
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore one elite athlete’s experience of a career
terminating sporting injury and its effects on athletic identity. The participant
experienced a spinal cord injury whilst playing rugby union approximately ten years
ago leaving the individual defining himself as disabled. Through means of a case
study, using an interview technique, the research aimed at discovering whether
athletic identity can re-establish many years post injury, additionally, if an individual
is still heavily involved within the sport but evidently not competing, what are the
implications with regards to identity. Additionally, what the effects of spinal cord
injuries are on the athletic body and ‘masculinity’ of an elite athlete involved in what
is classed as a ‘masculine’ sport.
Post interview it became clear that athletic identity can re-establish if one is
still involved in the same sport. Although, this depends on how sport fitted in to ones
life prior to injury and whether the individual felt that being an athlete was the only
identity they possessed. In this case the individual possessed more than one identity
prior to injury, additionally in the medical field, thus to some extent protecting his
athletic identity during the transition out of elite sports. Future suggestions for this
research highlight an investigation in to retirement experiences of a female elite
athlete, in order to discover the effects of a career terminating sporting injury on
femininity and their ‘masculine’ selves.
Keywords: Identity. Athletic Identity. Masculinity. Body. Injury. Retirement.
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Chapter one:
Introduction.
1.0 Introduction
In order to fully explore career ending sporting injuries and the loss of athletic
identity we need to take a sociological perspective and understand that identities
are very much subject to change and are influenced by various factors such as,
society, “There is a tendency to see identities as being fixed or given. Sociologists
however, argue that identities are fluid and changeable and that we can acquire new
ones” (Abercrombie et al. 2006 p.190). It has been argued that belonging to a
sporting sub-culture could establish the foundations to which an individual
constructs an identity (Coakley & Donnelly, 1999). Having considered this, as the
individual beings to consider themselves as an athlete, possessing an athletic
identity, “…the degree to which an individual identifies with the athlete role, within
the framework of a multidimensional self-concept” (Brewer et al. 1993 p.237), any
jeopardy placed upon the body results in an identity dilemma.
According to Sparkes (1998), “…a strong athletic identity can act as an
Achilles heel in coming to terms with a disruptive life event…”, having taken this
statement in to account the proposed research question aims to discovering
whether athletes who posses a strong athletic identity come to terms with a career
terminating injury somewhat better than those who are lacking this particular
athletic identity. Factors such as history and tradition have created a powerful
relationship between masculinity and athletic identity, “….the idea that men’s
supposedly superior strength has produced male supremacy” (Holmes, 2007 p. 93).
Masculinity in modern western countries is defined as, “…to be aggressive,
independent, and active” (Abercrombie et al. 2006 p. 238), and the pressure placed
upon men to fulfil this ‘masculine’ criteria can also cause identity issues if they fail to
do so, additionally accounting for injuries within the sporting domain (McKay et al.
2000).
As we have established, the body is key with regards to an athlete’s identity.
As Messner (1989) and Sparkes (1999) discovered injuries that prevent an athlete
from being able to play sports prove problematic to masculinity and identity, where
the athlete is forced to recognise possibly for the first time that the body is central to
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ones identity as an athlete (Young & White 1999). Men that are involved in
‘masculine’ sports for example rugby; feel that showing any signs of injury or pain is
viewed as weakness, which in that environment is less accepted. To facilitate the
best understanding of retirement from elite sports due to injury, it is essential to
understand how sport fitted in to ones life previously (Coakley & Donnelly, 1999),
thus increasing the demand for such research. After much exploration it became
apparent that there was very little research exploring the effects of a career
terminating sporting injury on athletic identity many years post injury. This research
takes a retrospective stand and through means of a case study explored career
ending sporting injury and the loss of athletic identity in one elite rugby player.
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Chapter two:
Literature Review.
2.0 Literature Review
2.1 The Body and Identity:
The social importance placed on the body appears to be of great meaning,
“in the affluent west, there is a tendency for the body to be seen as an entity
which is in the process of becoming, a project which should be worked at and
accomplished as part of an individual’s self identity.” (Shilling, 2003 p.4)
The recognition of how sport and exercise can claim to positively enhance the body
or placed great importance on has been a major influence for mass participation,
“the growth of mass sport and leisure which have identified personal worth with
the beauty, and the possibility of a radical enhancement of human functions by
technology” (Abercrombie et al. 2006 p.33).
Sport is the tool used in order for us to engage in a body project producing bodies
that are more ‘socially acceptable’,
“…body projects differ from how the flesh was decorated, inscribed and
altered in traditional societies as they involve a reflexivity which is cut a drift
from traditional models of socially acceptable bodies…” (Shilling, 2003 p.4).
Identity has been defined as, “…sense of self, of personhood…identities always
involve both sameness and difference” (Abercrombie et al. 2006 p.190). The body is
very closely related to ones identity therefore any changes to the body causes ones
identity to change, thus resulting in a bodily dilemma (Giddens, 1991). Literature has
suggested that the body works and functions involuntarily without thought, in order
to perform tasks within a sporting and everyday environment (Sparkes, 2002,
Charmaz, 1995). The body is central to any sporting identity where the majority of
athletes take the body for granted; the occurrence of an injury is the only time at
which the body will be at the forefront of the athletes mind.
2.2 Identity construction in sports:
Sport has a major influence in the complex process of identity construction.
Identity is defined as, “…A sense of self, of personhood, of what kind of person one is,
identities always involve both sameness and difference” (Abercrombie et al. 2006. p.
190). Donnelly & Young (1988) investigated the process of identity construction in
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sports. They concluded that there are three stages of identity construction;
pre-socialisation, selection and recruitment, and socialisation. Due to the fact that
these identities are constructed we have established that they are at risk. This
would therefore suggest that sport or belonging to a sporting sub-culture could lay
the foundations to which an individual constructs an identity, and discovers the
personal qualities of the above definition. Having taken this into consideration, as
the individual has a deeper involvement within the sport, subsequently regarding
himself or herself as an athlete of that particular sport, any serious jeopardy or injury
posed upon the body, forcing the athlete to temporarily or permanently retire, in
some cases could cause an identity crisis.
Athletic identity has been described by Sparkes (1998) as, “An Achilles heel to
the survival of self…a strong athletic identity can act as an Achilles heel in coming to
terms with a disruptive life event…” Therefore do those athletes who posses a strong
athletic identity come to terms with career termination better than those who lack
an identity as strong? In addition to this, is a strong athletic identity as crucial to the
rehabilitation process as Sparkes (1998) suggests?
2.3 Sociology and Injury:
Research by Leder (1990) suggests that the body fades away from
consciousness when performing in its non-problematic form. “…The body is most
often experienced in a state of ‘primary immediacy’. This is a state of being, when
the body functions and performs tasks without conscious effort…” (Sparkes & Smith,
1999 p.79). Injury in sports has thus far been a largely investigated area within
sociology literature as will be discussed. Although this maybe true it is essential to
recognise how widely this topic is researched within the psychology literature, and
to appreciate some relevant and existing research (Smith et al. 1990, Lally, 2006,
Brewer et al. 2009). Smith et al. (1990) identifies coping strategies addressing the
psychological effects of sporting injuries. Aside from this, the literature reviewed will
be used to aid the research of career ending sporting injury and the loss of athletic
identity in a qualitative manner.
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Although there is some existing literature on sporting injury and athletic
identity (Sparkes, 1998, Wainwright et al. 2005, Lavallee et al. 1997), there appears
to be less literature clearly examining injury and the loss of athletic identity
specifically after experiencing career ending injury. The proposed research question
would further the research by attempting to investigate if athletic identity can reestablish itself over time if one is still heavily involved in the sport following injury,
but evidently not playing/competing? Sparkes & Smith (2003) interviewed spinal
cord injury athletes at three different times in their lives, pre injury, immediately
after rehab, and as they live after injury. Even though literature of this nature exists,
there is limited research using individual interviews taking place some years post
compulsory retirement. The research carried out in this project will interview an
individual that suffered a career ending injury ten years ago. The participant may feel
more at ease discussing the topic, due to the fact they may have had more time to
come to terms with not being able to compete, optimistically resulting in more
depth information.
According to Coakely & Donnelly (1999) in order to understand the issues and
developments that individuals’ experience on retiring from elite sports a clear
understanding of how sports fitted in to ones life and whether sports expanded or
limited identities, experiences and relationships. If sports, has limited the above
variables, Coakley & Donnelly suggest that the transition form sports into life will be
further more problematic. Research by Dacyshyn (1999) investigated the retirement
experience for gymnasts, the average retirement age being eighteen years old. The
researcher’s goal in this study was to discover whether these girls needed a special
programme to assist the transition out of sports. The results showed that the
retirement process was a problematic one, due to their youth and that they had not
yet developed emotionally and matured fully. This is very useful information, for the
reason that the proposed research will deal with an individual who when retired
from rugby was mid to early twenties, was he emotionally mature enough to deal
with such a trauma? Rugby is a different consideration of sport due to the masculine
identities created, which are very narrow and limited in definition but include sport
as a major definer.
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2.4 Masculinity and Injury:
Following much research regarding the sociological aspects of sporting injuries, it
became apparent that there have been a number of investigations on the effects of
spinal cord injuries on male’s sporting participation, where masculinity has been
mostly predominant, (Sparkes, 2002, Sparkes & Smith, 1999, Wheeler et al. 1999).
From this it can be established that masculinity, “the set of social practices and
cultural representations associated with being a man” Pilcher & Whelehan (2005,
p.82.) is a major concern when investigating athletic identity. Potential compelling
influences such as, history and tradition have created this relationship between
masculinity and athletic identity. “The male body was considered the norm, but the
female body had all the parts of the male; they were simply arranged in a different
and inferior pattern” (Duroche, 1990 p.38).
Career ending injuries have been said to shatter masculinity (Sparkes, 1999,
Messner, 1989) and force a “depleted sense of personal worth” (Young & White,
1999 p.210).
“…Athletes are forced to recognise, perhaps for the first time, that the
physical body and its skills are centrally tied to one’s identity and to one’s social
relationships.” (Young & White, 1999 p.210)
It is argued that masculinity is one of the main causes of illness and injury for men,
for example,
“To be socialised into most dominant forms of masculinity involves learning
and celebrating emotional denial, distance and affective neutrality but also the
cultural importance of actions that often exact a physical toll.” (Mckay et al. 2000
p.113)
It is vital to consider the fact that males do not “…identify sports injury as a
particularly serious social problem” (Mckay et al. 2000 p.109) due to the fact that
they may find it more difficult to come to terms with trauma or serious injury which
prevents one from being involved in sports.
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2.5 Threats posed upon sporting careers:
Threats to sporting careers and how athletes experienced, described and
understood pain was investigated by Young & White (1999) through the use of
interviews. Participants included, sixteen male athletes and twelve female athletes,
all involved in physical sports such as, rugby, football, kickboxing and bodybuilding.
Young & White identified five aspects of pain; talking injury, hidden pains,
disrespected pain, un-welcomed pain, and depersonalised pain. The results following
the interviews showed that athletes concealed pain and continued to participate in
sports even though injured, a career termination was a last resort to the majority of
the athletes. The research concluded that,
“…as the athletes became immersed in the highly masculinized sub-culture of
high performance sports, they learned that athletes never quit, and that quitters
are not athletes.” (Coakley & Donnelly, 1999 p. 198)
From this conclusion, we can establish that men who are involved in ‘masculine’
sports e.g. rugby, feel that showing signs of injury could be a sign of weakness which
in the male sporting environment is less accepted.
The majority of the literature presented with regards to injury, have all
suggested that a serious injury is the worst case scenario for elite athletes. Although
this is true, one issue raised is, do athletes ever learn to accept that injury can
sometimes be inevitable, and is injury and pain are normal parts that are attached to
the role of being an athlete? Cury (1993) investigated how athletes became to
accept pain and injury as a normal part of the sports role identity. This research
involved a case study of one wrestler, using interviews over several weeks. The
study found that the individual learned to appreciate pain, “like bodybuilders, who
learn to appreciate pain because it means that muscle tissue is being torn down and
rebuilt…” (Cury, 1993 p.373) pain was used as a motivator. Similar to the individual
used in this study the individual used as part of the proposed research question was
also involved in what might be classed as a ‘masculine’ sport, that is, rugby, the
results here could possibly be applied. Individuals involved in aggressive, contact
sports avoid showing signs of injury, in order to look ‘macho’ and masculine using
pain as a motivator to better performance.
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2.6 Compulsory retirement from sports:
The proposed research project, as the question reads will investigate compulsory
retirement from sports due to severe injury. It became apparent that there are a
number of studies that explore non compulsory retirement from sports. Considering
this research is useful to discover whether these individuals have similar experiences
post retirement as of those forced to retire. Research by Swain (1999) investigated
the experience of ‘moving on’ from elite sports, using a qualitative method, that is
interviews. He described how the “popular press” had created a stereotype or an
incorrect picture of the former athletes as a, “sorry and cast-off figure who was
unable to cope with a world outside sports.” (Swain, 1999 p.224). Swain disagreed
with this statement due to personal experience of retirement. The sample only
included American males, who were members of traditionally male dominated
sports within the country e.g. American football. Participants from a wider range of
sports may have made some commonalities or differences across sports more
apparent. The results showed that retiring form elite sports was seen as a confused
and indecisive time but not a traumatic one. This may have been due to the fact that
retirement from sports in this case was not forced due to severe injury, but instead
the athlete themselves had decided themselves to leave the sport.
Additionally Lally (2006) re-examined the relationship between identity and
athletic retirement using a longitudinal approach. The study concluded that the
‘redefinition of self long before sport career termination may protect one’s identity
during this transition process’ (p.85). This research adopted a psychological
perspective, where the participants were given coping strategies in order to come to
terms with injury. Having considered that the athletes involved were not forced to
retire due to the nature of the injury, the coping strategies may have seemed more
effective than they actually may have been. The implications here may be that,
athletes who have experienced a career ending injury and wanting to adopt these
types of coping techniques may not successfully overcome the traumatic experience,
as shown in this study.
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Spinal cord injuries and retirement from sports has been a largely investigated
area within the sociology and injury literature, a large quantity of this literature has
been researched by Sparkes, as some of the text exemplifies. Sparkes & Smith (2005)
interviewed fourteen men who had experienced spinal cord injuries through playing
rugby and as a result disabled, forcing retirement. The paper discusses how these
individuals seem to look for a cure, linking to Frank’s (1995) work on disciplined
bodies, “the disciplined body experiences its gravest crisis in loss of control” (p.41).
“A cure. That is what I want, and I do think that I’ll make a comeback and walk
again at some point in time. I won’t stop fighting until I can do that…If I’m to fight
this and make a comeback, then religion or believing that I can mentally make myself
walk again is useless” (Sparkes & Smith, 2005 p.83).
The men felt that if they gave up fighting against their injury they would consider
themselves and be considered as a failure. They also adopt the ideology that there is
nothing for them in life without sports, “I don’t want any more out of my life. It’s
over” (Sparkes & Smith, 2005 p.85). Post interviews the athletes became to realise
they needed to understand who they are before athletic identity can be
reconstructed,
“ Keeping who I was in the past, keep it in mind is something that I need to do
if I am to get myself back….I want my old self back because I liked myself then…”
(Sparkes & Smith, 2005 p. 84). The paper subsequently concludes, developing self is
seen as an identity, rather than a specific identity with regards to the sport they
were involved in, also stating, the individuals are now free to explore new identities
as possibilities emerge. Thus suggesting, after an elite athlete comes to terms with a
traumatic injury re-storying ones identity, whether it be one or multiple identities is
very much open to change post injury.
2.7 Life beyond sports:
Sports participation may not be forever, especially at an elite level due to the
training and other high intensity physical and psychological demands, but it is unsure
whether athletes consider or come to terms with this. Some of the results gathered
from the literature has suggested that understanding how sports was a part of
9
athletes lives and if it still remains so, can be vital in understanding the
retirement process. Coakley & Donnelly (1999) recognised four factors that
contribute to the explanation of changes in sports participation; first is the general
circumstances surrounding the changes, secondly is the identity issues related to the
change. The developmental life course issues at the time of changes are also an
important factor and finally, the availability of resources for making transitions in to
other roles (Coakley & Donnelly, 1999 p.197).
It has been researched that ‘identity work’, which in this particular case focuses
on “turn on routines and settings, appearance and embodiment, identity talk, and
differential association” can be a vital part of maintaining continuity of identity
during a traumatic injury experience (Collinson & Hockey, 2006). This research
conducted by Collinson & Hockey (2006) was founded on auto ethnographic
research which was undertaken by two middle/long distance runners during a period
of injury and rehabilitation. The gender of the sample (that is, male or female) is not
specified; therefore the understanding and interpretation of the results could prove
problematic in deciding whether the results were affected by issues such as
masculinity, where males may not have wanted to disclose information regarding
personal feelings in order to live up to ‘masculine norms’. This research was also
carried out over a period of two years; the participants may have found this a long
and intense process, due to the fact that they have had little time to come to terms
with injury.
2.8 Conclusion:
There are many reasons why ‘An exploration of career ending sporting injury
and the loss of athletic identity in one elite rugby player’ would be beneficial within
the field of sociology. The research conducted will involve an individual despite
experiencing a career ending injury that is still heavily involved within the sport of
rugby for example, commentating and appearing on television programmes. Could
this therefore suggest that athletic identity can re-establish it self over time if one
remains to be heavily involved? The research would identify what sort of sporting
identity they posses today post injury. Following much research into this field of
study, it became apparent that a large quantity of the literature was psychology
10
based although it is significant to recognise the research (as mentioned in
the text) there is less sociological literature, with regards to injury and athletic
identity. Subsequent to this, it then became more apparent that there was even less
research examining injury and the loss of athletic identity, specifically after
experiencing career terminating injuries, that is, lots of the research involved injured
athletes that were not forced to retire. Due to the fact that there is limited research
following individuals many years post compulsory retirement, in order to further the
research the individual interviewed was forced to retire ten years ago. The results
gained from this research are not intended to represent a wider population but is
simply an individual’s account of the retirement due to injury experience.
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Chapter three:
Method & Methodology.
3.0 Method & Methodology
The aim of this research is to explore career ending sporting injuries and the loss of
athletic identity. The results gained from this research are not aimed at representing
a certain sporting population, but to understand one person’s experience of
retirement through injury. Therefore, the method chosen to gain the best possible
understanding is a case study. As the literature review illustrates, there is little
research within sociology examining injured athletes many years post injury, as a
result this research interviewed an individual who was injured through sports
approximately ten years ago. Thus, furthering research by investigating whether
athletic identity can re-establish over time if one is still heavily involved within the
sport, or is there room for a new identity to be constructed.
3.1 Choosing a qualitative approach:
A qualitative approach is the best way to attain information with regards to
exploring the research topic, due to the fact that it is only one interpretation of
terminating an elite sporting career as a result of injury. A one to one interview will
allow the attainment of rich in depth data that other methods such as a
questionnaire would fail to provide, “case study research…uses a narrow lens to build
a rich or thick description…” (Smith et al. 2009 p.60). In order to obtain sufficient
information and data the researcher will be used as the tool to achieve this,
“The questions we ask will always to some degree determine the answers we
find…. The research questions that guide a qualitative study reflect the
researcher’s goal of discovering what is important to know about some topic
of interest” (Maykut & Morehouse, 1994 p.43),
Due to the nature of the research, that is injuries resulting in retirement, further
investigation in to this field provides an opportunity for voices that otherwise would
not be expressed (Ritchie & Lewis, 2003). The results gained from this research are
not aimed at generalising to a certain population, but to understand an individuals
account of their transition experience out of professional sports, therefore
furthering research in this field, as Quinn Patton highlights,
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“While one cannot generalize from single cases or very small samples, one
can learn from them- and learn a great deal, often opening up new territory
for further research…” (2002, p.46).
This research takes a phenomenological approach through means of a case study,
which is described by Maykut & Morehouse as “…a focus on understanding the
meaning events have for persons being studied” (1994 p.3), in this case the research
as described, is attempting to investigate ones experience of having to involuntarily
retire from sports. One ideology behind qualitative research is ontology,
“…assumptions concern questions about the nature of reality” (Maykut &
Morehouse, 1994 p.3), this is something we can not observe or this case measure,
but is relative to the individual in question the researcher is wanting to understand
an interpretation of the ‘truth’ according to a particular individual.
3.2 Sampling & Access:
Choosing the most effective sampling method is vital, therefore the sampling
strategy used within the research was purposive sampling, “this approach of
purposefully selecting people (or settings, organizations) for a study acknowledges
the complexity that characterizes human and social phenomena and the limits of
generalizability” (Maykut & Morehouse, 1994 p. 56). There are many strategies
within purposive sampling (Ritchie & Lewis, 2003 p.79) selecting a strategy depends
upon the nature of the research question and which strategy the researcher predicts
will provide the best understanding of the area under study. Therefore in order to
provide this, criterion sampling strategy was used, “the logic of criterion sampling is
to review and study all cases that meet some predetermined criterion of
importance…” (Quinn Patton, 2002 p.238). Due to the nature of the research
question, the chosen individual had to fit the criteria of having been an elite athlete
and suffered a sporting injury resulting in the termination of a sporting career and
criterion sampling technique would aid best results.
As a result of my own experiences within sports and my father’s we have
numerous connections with sports people and athletes, which very much aided the
process of selecting and contacting an individual to be a part of the desired sample.
Gaining access to the participant was relatively easy due to the fact that the family
13
live near by and my dad knew the participant’s dad, thus enabling my self to
gain the exact person required. I contacted the participant’s dad to begin with which
then gave me access to the participant’s phone number, I then got in contact with
the participant who agreed to part take and clearly fitted the sample criteria. The
final sample consisted of one male former elite rugby player. ‘Dave’ is a thirty seven
year old rugby pundit. He began his rugby career at the age of eleven, subsequently
playing at an international level. Due to severe neck injury whilst playing was forced
to retire at the age of twenty five.
3.3 Data Collection:
Data was collected through a case study. The interview took place in an environment
that the participant was comfortable with, that is, at the participant’s home, and at a
time and date convenient for them. The reason behind choosing an interview
approach is to gain in-depth data and gain a better understanding of an individual’s
experiences and feelings, “through conversations we get to know other people, get
to learn about their experiences, feelings and hopes and the world they live in”
(Kvale, 2007 p.1). Having considered this, in order to thoroughly investigate and
understand leaving elite sports and life changes spinal cord injuries bring about, an
interview would provide all of this information in great depth (Smith et al. 2009). The
questions used in the interview were devised based on previous research in this
field, for example, Coakley & Donnelly (1999), Dacyshyn (1999), McKay et al. (2000),
Sparkes & Smith (1999), Sparkes (1998), all of the questions were written in a clear
format and easy to understand. The interview session lasted approximately an hour
and a half, in order to get the best data and build rapport establishing a good
participant researcher relationship.
Subsequent to the data collection, via
Dictaphone, all of the data was transcribed verbatim and further categorised into
different themes for data analysis.
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3.4 Data Analysis:
In order to rigorously analyse the data an inductive approach was used. Using this
approach means that, “hypotheses are not generated…the data are not grouped
according to predetermined categories. Rather, what becomes important to analyze
emerges from the data itself…” (Maykut & Morehouse, 1994 p.126-127). The reason
behind the chosen data analysis approach is, if the researcher had any pre
determined ideas or hypotheses this would have a major influence on how the
researcher perceives the data and influence the types of questions asked during the
interview. Therefore an inductive approach works by eliminating any opinions and
suppositions. This data analysis approach will allow for “units of meaning” (Maykut &
Morehouse, 1994 p. 129) to emerge encouraging the reader to make their own
interpretations of the data presented. Data analysis continued until a “theoretical
saturation point” (Makykut & morehouse, 1994 p. 144) was reached, where
sufficient areas under exploration had been covered resulting in the data being
restructured in to a form of ‘reality’ for the participant.
3.5 Judgement Criteria:
Since there was an existing relationship between the researcher and participant’s
father, rapport between researcher and participant was subsequently quickly
established. Having considered this it could be argued that this research is one that is
‘trustworthy’. Although the results of this research are not aimed to represent but to
give an account of one individual’s experience as Denzin (1997) asks, “Is any
representation of an experience as good as any other?” (Cited in Sparkes, 2002
p.192), suggesting that an account of any one person’s experience(s) can contribute
to existing knowledge equally as effectively as exploring more than one persons
experiences. This research project will not have the same influence on one person as
it will another, but the research process and data collection has been a rigorous one,
therefore allowing possible limitations to be highlighted. Having retired from
international sports my self I can understand how frustrating the injury period can
15
be, and having to make to decision to leave the sport at eighteen years of age, I feel
that I have a connection on some level with the participant. This connection aided a
clearer understanding and delivery of the information and data received from the
participant.
3.6 Ethical Issues:
The interview will be conducted in a familiar environment to ensure that the
participant does feel any discomfort or inconvenience. Prior to the interview taking
place the participant received the participant information sheet; included an
overview of the research and what was expected of the participant and their rights
(see appendix B). Additionally the participant signed the consent form, highlighting
that the participant agreed to be part of the research, understands that they can
withdraw at anytime, and that they will remain anonymous (Smith et al. 2009) (see
appendix A).
Although there are not any foreseen physical or psychological issues with
regards to the participant, it is important to consider possibilities. If the participant
begins to discuss issues that are irrelevant to the purpose of the research, that are
out of the researchers experience and knowledge to tackle, the individual will be
referred to a designated professional. All of the information regarding the
researcher’s competencies will be included in the participant information sheet (see
appendix B). Asking the participant to discuss retirement and injury may uncover
some emotional memories; in order to begin to overcome this issue building rapport
with the participant is key. Establishing good rapport will also aid more trustworthy
results, thus the participant will be more at ease revealing personal information and
feelings,
“…interviewer’s knowledge of how to create rapport…may serve as a ‘Trojan
horse’ to get inside areas of a person’s life where they were not invited”
(Kvale, 2007 p.30).
In order to make the participant feel more at ease with sharing their
experiences, the researcher will then where appropriate share personal experiences
16
of their own in order to balance the power, “when the balance of power is
shifted…interviewees are more likely to tell their own story” (Maykut & Morehouse,
1994 p.99). As a researcher it is essential to consider when leaving the ‘field’ of
study, the participant is not going to be the same as when the field was entered. This
can be a good thing due to the fact the participant may feel empowered by telling
their story, and also aiding a deeper insight into the subject area, (Quinn patton,
2002 p. 411).
17
Chapter four:
Findings.
4.0 Findings
On analysis of the data many themes emerged from the text, and discussed are the
key re-emerging themes found which were, the effects an injury has on identity, and
in addition masculinity. Also, how injuries are normalised in ‘masculine’ sports,
adapting to a disabled body and life beyond sport and the sporting sub-culture.
4.1 Athletic identity:
Athletic identity is most problematic when experiencing a career ending injury. The
individual in question found that his athletic identity slipped away very quickly after
experiencing such an injury and re-defining a new identity also proved problematic.
Forced retirement from sports has left ‘Dave’ feeling that he is unable to escape
from his identity as a rugby player and define himself by his new identity as a rugby
pundit, as he explains;
“My identity as an athlete went you know very soon. I think that rugby has
perpetuated my identity with some people who aren’t aware of how disabled
I now am.”
Although he describes rugby as being a very big part of his life and being something
that has expanded his life experiences, rugby was still an amateur sport at the time
that ‘Dave’ played which meant that rugby was not guaranteed as being a career for
him, “…in terms of priorities, school work first and rugby second.” ‘Dave’ was a
medical student while he played rugby, and therefore felt he had numerous
identities that is, in the medical field and within the rugby field. Having a second or
numerous identities seems to have, protected ‘Dave’s’ athletic identity to some
extent during that period where he realised that he was forced to retire,
“…having another career to go to was very helpful in my rehabilitation after
some time… I always felt that rugby was umm not the most important part of
my career… it was always very enjoyable and it was a big part of my life I
wouldn’t I never saw myself, I never thought of it as a job…never initially
intended to be a form of income for me…”
It appeared that ‘Dave’ had a natural talent when it came to playing rugby
despite numerous injuries, and seemed to stumble upon the sport as a career thus
becoming a form of income, as he explains in the above quote. Perhaps this was the
18
reason along with, when he began his career, rugby was an amateur sport,
that he felt rugby was not his number one priority. Protecting and maintaining
athletic identity provides one solution to avoiding the process of compulsory
retirement being a traumatic one. ‘Dave’ was able to maintain his athletic identity by
becoming involved in rugby on the television very shortly post injury. Considering
that ‘Dave’ had multiple identities whilst being an athlete seems to have protected
his identity as mentioned. He then explained how after one year post injury he was
asked to appear on television as a rugby pundit, although he describes his identity as
something that disappeared during injury, the fact the he never really left the sport
maintained his athletic identity;
“…because I went into television after a year…my identity with rugby
maintained…the only reason why I was there was because I used to play and
captained Wales, so that identity remained being a rugby player.”
4.2 Masculinity & injury/ injury normalisation:
When ‘Dave’ was asked if he felt his injury had affected his masculinity, he answered
no, and commented on how he was concerned for how others view him and the
effects of being classed as disabled on his identity, as he explained;
“…your identity is slipped away and you don’t quite know who you are, but in
terms of masculinity or anything like that, sexuality….they weren’t affected.
Its other people’s perceptions you worry about and you’re very conscious
of…sometimes feel as if you have to explain yourself to people…”
‘Dave’ clearly demonstrates worry regarding how other people perceive him. As
Donnelly & Young (1999) found there are three stages involved in identity
construction in sports, and belonging to a sporting sub-culture is what individuals
use in order to construct sporting identities. There is always internal pressure upon
athletes to live up to the constructed identity and masculine ‘norms’ created
through sports.
However, although he claims that his injury did not affect his masculinity as
we further divulged in to the interview he began to talk about exercise. He explained
how he would not exercise in a gym due to others watching thus the effects of his
disability becoming more public to others. This suggests that even though his injury
19
may not have affected his masculinity directly the effects here are clearly
indirect and display an awareness of masculine norms through his articulation of his
physical and sporting limitations post injury.
“…I bought a rowing machine and put it up in the house because I didn’t want
anyone to see me…. I didn’t want to go to a gym and do it in front of people,
because you know and after doing exercise I become extremely
uncoordinated for a time afterwards…I didn’t want all that to be very
public…”
‘Dave’ went on to discuss the Macho image that rugby portrays, for a second
time indirectly referencing the effects that sports such as rugby have on masculinity.
It seems he felt that when he was playing there was a particular image he had to live
up to, displaying certain characteristics of ‘macho’ behaviour (Donnelly & Young,
1988), “…rugby in particular can be a macho type image…there is a certain way of
behaving, you know a particular rugby type behaviour which is prevalent especially in
younger age groups.”
As a result of the desire to fulfil masculine expectations, ‘Dave’ played with injuries,
perhaps minor injuries, but never the less continued to play. His reason behind
playing with injuries was because he had so many injuries before his big injury, he
felt that he had to play or he wouldn’t have ever had a game in his opinion, as he
explained, “…if I had waited until I was completely fit I don’t think I’d have ever
played a game, I mean I was quite happy to with, as long as I could get on the field..”
It became apparent how Injuries are normalised in masculine dominated sports such
as rugby, “….fairly phlegmatic about injuries because I had to be…”
Subsequent to his spinal cord injury it took ‘Dave’ approximately eight years
before he really got involved in exercise due to his recovery and because he felt so
limited in ability, “…eight years after my accident that I started really trying to do
more exercise...” He talked about how he engaged in some exercise about a year
after his injury but his disability put him off doing any exercise,
20
“…a little bit after about a year, but only for about four or five weeks and I
didn’t like because it was so different, I was so limited I couldn’t do anything I
wanted to do…”
As he described limited ability was what put him off doing any exercise because his
body could not perform like it used to, even though he realised that this was due to
his disability, he may have sub consciously worried about his masculine image and
body (McKay et al. 2000). Now that his body is not what it used to be before,
possibly he feels less of a man now as a result of his injury.
4.3 The athletic body vs. The disabled body:
The body is central to any elite athlete’s identity therefore any injuries or threats
posed upon their sporting careers can cause an identity dilemma (Giddens, 1991).
‘Dave’ described how being a rugby player was obviously a very big part of his
identity and that an athletic body came with that, “…I certainly saw myself as a
rugby player ….fit and strong and athletic person umm that was part of my
identity…”.
Being a young successful athlete ‘Dave’ talks about how he never
worried or thought about his body being able to perform (Sparkes, 2002, Sparkes &
smith, 1999), “…I certainly wouldn’t go on the field worried about my body being able
to hold up, that never really crossed my mind.” Regardless of having so many injuries
throughout his career this never seemed to worry him or threaten his career,
“…I was frustrated that I had so many injuries in comparison to
others….aware of the fact that we are all different…every body type is
different….fairly phlegmatic about injuries because I had to be…”.
It is clear that prior to ‘Dave’s’ career terminating injury he had little if any concern
with regards to his body and a fairly relaxed view about injury (Leder, 1990). ‘Dave’
also described how difficult obtaining a spinal cord injury and being classed as
disabled at such a young age (25 years old) proved problematic in the redefinition of
his identity, and coming to terms with a very different body,
“…I didn’t know what my future quality of life was going to be either, so how
to redefine yourself, you know try to grab or form a new identity of yourself
was very difficult….to come to terms with never being the same again and
21
being you know a person with a disability for the rest of my life was very
difficult.”
Giddens (1991) and Young & White (1999) illustrate how the body and
identity are very closely related, and the occurrence of an injury is perhaps the first
time an athlete will consider how closely associated the physical body and its skills
are with ones identity. Having this very different body also pushed ‘Dave’ to
consider his own image. Due to the publicity of his injury he felt that he now has the
stigma attached to him and that he very often feels the need to explain himself to
others due to his bodily characteristics as a direct result of his injury;
“…sometimes feel as if you have to explain yourself to people because of
what’s happened…I don’t walk the same way, I don’t move the same
way…people who don’t know me and don’t remember or are not aware of
things in terms of rugby have a very different perception of me…”
It could be perceived that ‘Dave’ feels the need to explain him self to others due to
the fact that people remember him as an elite athlete and obviously his body is very
different now to what it was then, and he wants people to understand his injury and
appreciate his time as an elite rugby player.
“…you have to umm re-evaluate exactly how you feel about yourself and your
own image because that’s not how you will be seen by others again,
especially if you’ve had a big injury, and quite a public injury like I
had….everyone now won’t remember me as the guy who played for Wales,
they’ll remember me as the guy who played for Wales and got the neck
injury.”
4.4 Compulsory Retirement from sport:
‘Dave’ described his injury as “not career ending, life changing…” and stated that
during recovery, rugby “wasn’t of any concern” his main goal was get better and live
independently. This was also his response when asked what was meaningful in life
now, he answered, “…being independent and umm having a career…”. There is no
denying that this was a very difficult time in ‘Dave’s’ life and being so young, but
retiring from sport allowed ‘Dave’ to explore new identities within the sporting field,
22
and who knows if the opportunity to appear on television would have occurred if he
had not retired at that time compulsory or not? Even though ‘Dave’ is still involved in
the same sport, he is now involved from a different perspective, that is a pundit.
‘Dave’ illustrated how being involved with rugby on television had been some which
facilitated his rehabilitation, “…that’s been a very positive part of my umm recovery
through and that identity with rugby still…” Therefore, since ‘Dave’s’ identity within
rugby was able to be maintained through other means, aided his recovery in his
opinion.
Since ‘Dave’ had become involved with television so soon following his injury,
he felt as though he had been included “…because it was news worthy, it was a bit
different to have you know someone who had been through what I’ve been
through…”, but has now been doing this job for ten years, and so took it very
seriously. He said,
“…its not something I wanted to do to get back in to rugby, I saw it as a very
different career…I still think of it as something very separate…obviously its
based on rugby but it’s now testing your ability to communicate, to be able to
analyse, umm and to put over your opinions in a way that works on telly…”
As ‘Dave’ explains, he did not take this opportunity in order to get back in to rugby
he saw this as a new challenge and regardless of how serious he takes the job and
still enjoys rugby he states that, “…rugby will never be as important to me as it
was…..its just probably moved down the pecking order further now…” Duroche
(1990) discusses how historically the male body was seen to be the ‘norm’ and
female bodies were seen as similar to make bodies but the way female bodies are
arranged was seen as ‘inferior’. Thus it could be argued that male athletic identities
are possibly stronger than females.
4.5 Life beyond Sport/ Exploring new identities:
Having such a strong athletic identity seems to be what made ‘Dave’ decide
to take up the offer of appearing on television. When it came to leaving professional
sports and having support in finding a career after leaving sports, this was not an
23
issue for ‘Dave’ as he was very driven and committed to his medical career
and the fact that he was an elite athlete was an added bonus, as he explains;
“…it was always my intention to return to full time medicine…. I realise that I
am very fortunate to have had that option….almost all of my rugby was
played in the amateur rugby days… was never a consideration as to whether
or not I would have a career outside of sport because I did have one.”
‘Dave’ talked about how there was very little support in helping athletes who were
forced to retire form sports get in to work and back to everyday life. As he explained
above, because he had a career outside of sports this was never an issue for him.
Although he described “…national health service is extremely poor at any of that
stuff…” he seemed to think that maybe the situation now is different for retiring
athletes;
“…in my situation I don’t know, someone who goes through a career ending
injury now say and has to stop you know there may be things in place them
because they’ve always been a rugby player, someone may help them with
some sort of training or education…”
The injury ‘Dave’ had was not just a case of rehabilitation then recovery, he is
forever going to be disabled and is now still not over the injury as he explains, “…I
haven’t got the ability to compensate in any way when I do get a bad back, I become
very disabled because of it, so I mean, I can’t walk at all….”. Despite this, when asked
how life is now subsequent to what he said quoted above he stated, “…you know I
get over it and start again, so yeah, life’s ok…” he is determined not to let it get him
down. It is clear to see that this injury still affects ‘Dave’s’ self esteem, he states;
“…after the injury I was always going to be known and seen as the bloke who had the
injury…” with people ignoring the fact that he captained Wales and forgetting how
successful of a career he had.
Even though ‘Dave’ suffered such a severe injury that could put most people
off the sport, he stated that this has had no effect on how he feels when he watches
the game now, “…I can look at it very dispassionately and try to be as objective as I
24
can… I look at the game now as I would have done before…”. During injury
recovery and post injury, ‘Dave’ described how there is such a cross section of spinal
cord injuries and finding someone else who is in the same position as your self can
prove very difficult, and as a result he did not try to find or help others in similar
situations,
“…spinal cord injuries of my kind are all so different, you know it’s difficult to
find someone who has had near to what you’ve had…”
Also when asked if he tried to do other things on recovery in order to feel that such
an injury was taking over his life, he answered no, saying, “…it did take over my
life…you throw yourself in to it with the same energy as you throw yourself in to
training for something…”
25
Chapter five:
Discussion.
5.0 Discussion.
The findings from this research contribute to the knowledge of athlete’s experiences
of having to retire from elite sports due to injury, in this case spinal cord injury. The
interview illustrated that the maintenance of athletic identity and/or possessing
multiple identities is what aids the rehabilitation process and arguably prevents the
retirement process being a traumatic one. It seems that the importance an athlete
places on sport is also what determines whether the injury period is seen as
traumatic one or not.
5.1 The Body & Identity:
Sparkes (2002) and Charmaz (1995) stated that the body works involuntarily
without thought in order to perform tasks within a sporting and everyday
environment, the only time that an athlete would consider or think about their body
is when it fails to work in its non-problematic form. This research project found
similar results. The participant (‘Dave) stated that he never had any worries with
regards to his body being able to cope in the sporting environment as he states, “…I
certainly wouldn’t go on the field worried about my body being able to hold up, that
never really crossed my mind.” However, post injury he described how his body is
not able “…to compensate in any way when I do get a bad back…”, here ‘Dave’
illustrates how his body is constantly at the forefront of his mind, because it is now
performing in what can be described as a ‘problematic form’, as Sparkes (2002) and
Charmaz (1995) suggest.
We can see how closely related the body is to an athletes identity, thus any
bodily changes causing identity changes result in a bodily dilemma (Giddens, 1991).
This was definitely apparent in ‘Dave’s’ case, he talks prior to injury how he
identified him self as an athlete, in particular a rugby player, “…I certainly saw myself
as a rugby player ….fit and strong and athletic person umm that was part of my
identity…” subsequently post injury he talked on the subject of how quickly his
identity as a rugby player disappeared, “…your identity is slipped away and you don’t
quite know what you are…” leaving him unsure how he would define him self during
and after recovery.
26
5.2 Identity Construction in sport:
Donnelly & Young (1988) investigated identity construction in sport, and found
that there were there stages involved. Consequently since identities are constructed
they are fragile, any threats posed upon these identities such as injury, subsequently
result in an identity dilemma. This seemed to come to light when interviewing
‘Dave’, he had been involved in sport form a very young age, and therefore had
constructed a sporting identity, and the magnitude of his injury resulted in a loss of
identity.
“…it effects your identity and your confidence and your self esteem….you lose
lots of those things and then your identity is slipped away and you don’t quite
know who you are...its other peoples perceptions of you, you worry about and
your very conscious of and umm self-aware…”
Even though ‘Dave’ had always known that rugby would not be his career for life,
this appeared to fail in providing any ‘protection’ to his athletic identity at this point.
Athletic identity has been described as an Achilles heel of coming to terms with
a disruptive life event Sparkes (1998), “An Achilles heel to the survival of self…a
strong athletic identity can act as an Achilles heel in coming to terms with a
disruptive life event…”. At first this statement by Sparkes (1998) did prove apparent,
‘Dave’ talked about how he felt that his sense of athletic identity was invisible,
however, in his opinion rugby has reserved some form of athletic identity, as he
explained;
“My identity as an athlete went you know very soon. I think that rugby has
perpetuated my identity with some people who aren’t aware of how disabled I
now am.”
‘Dave’ subsequently illustrated how rugby was never his number one precedence, it
was always medicine, “…in terms of priorities, school work first and rugby second.”
Perhaps this is what shielded his athletic identity to some extent, not the fact that he
had such a strong athletic identity to begin with but the fact that he had numerous
identities, therefore always had another identity which provided him with support.
27
5.3 Sociology & Injury:
Coakley & Donnellly (1999) explained that in order to understand issues that
individuals experience on retiring from elite sports it is vital to fully understand how
sport fitted in to ones life, and whether sport has limited or expanded experiences,
identities, and relationships. If sport has limited any of these then transition out of
sport is very problematic period. As ‘Dave’ mentioned, he felt that rugby had
maintained some form of athletic identity with individuals who are not aware of how
disabled he is, but maybe not with others. However, he explained his injury had
expanded relationships with family, he explains,
“…I’m sure that’s helped my relationship with my brother actually, because I don’t
know because we moved in different circles because he working and I was in college
but after that we became much closer…my mother never went back to work, my
mother ended up living with me….my father he took some time off…my brother was
living quite close by and was very good…”
Even though it was through shocking circumstances, as a result of the injury would
these relationships have been as close if ‘Dave’s’ injury had never happened?
Dacyshyn (1999) investigated the retirement experience of gymnasts, in order to
discover whether gymnasts needed a special program to assist them out of sports
and in to everyday life. Results found that the retirement process was a problematic
one, the reason being, the average retirement age. The average age being eighteen
years old, the research concluded that the gymnasts were not emotionally mature
enough to cope with such changes at such a young age. ‘Dave’ got injured when he
was only twenty five years old. When asked if he thought he was emotionally mature
enough to cope with such an injury he answered;
“…well no, but I don’t think I would have ever been, I don’t think anybody
would have been emotionally prepared for the changes that I went through, I
wasn’t, from that point of view it was a huge life event not just the end of a
sporting career…”
Subsequent to admitting that he was not emotionally mature enough, ‘Dave’ did not
once refer to this period in his life as a traumatic one. He did not see this injury as
something that was going to come between him and his sporting career, rather he
saw
it
as
something
that
was
28
about
to
change
his
life.
5.4 Masculinity & Injury:
According to Sparkes (1999) & Messner (1989) career terminating injuries are
said to shatter masculinity and force a “depleted sense of personal worth.” (Young &
White, 1999 p.210) for numerous reasons, one being reason being,
“…Athletes are forced to recognise, perhaps for the first time, that the
physical body and its skills are centrally tied to one’s identity and to one’s
social relationships.” (Young & White, 1999 p.210).
Although the findings in this research may not clearly support or challenge Sparkes
(1999) and Messner (1989) findings, from the answers ‘Dave’ provided it seems that
his injury may have affected his masculinity indirectly. He talked about his concerns
of public perceptions of himself, and stated that the injury had no effect on his
masculinity;
“…your identity is slipped away and you don’t quite know who you are, but in
terms of masculinity or anything like that, sexuality….they weren’t affected.
Its other people’s perceptions you worry about and you’re very conscious of…”
The question asked was with regards to masculinity, (as illustrated) and ‘Dave’
brought sexuality in to his answer. He unconsciously assumes there is a link between
masculinity and sexuality, does failing to fulfil one mean that the other is subject to
change. Soon after he discussed how he did not want to exercise because of his
disability, thus the effects of his injury becoming more public. This may possibly
suggest that his injury had an indirect effect on his masculinity, as he displays an
awareness of masculine bodily norms by describing his physical limitations. “...I
didn’t like because it was so different, I was so limited I couldn’t do anything I wanted
to do…”
It is essential to consider that “males do not identify sports injury as a
particularly serious social problem” (Mckay et al. 2000 p.109) as McKay et al. (2000)
concluded, because men may find it more difficult to come to terms with trauma or
a serious injury which would prevent them from being involved in sporting activity.
Men fail to identify injury as a social problem, and ‘Dave’ talked about how he was,
“….fairly phlegmatic about injuries because I had to be…”. ‘Dave’ had so many
29
injuries prior to his spinal cord injury he felt he had to ignore any minor
injuries in order for him to be able to play a game, as he explains,
“…if I had waited until I was completely fit I don’t think I’d have ever played a
game, I mean I was quite happy to with, as long as I could get on the field...”
As for coming to terms with an injury that would prevent ‘Dave’ from playing rugby,
this was not the most difficult part for him. He described how,
“Rugby was of minor concern, in fact it wasn’t of any concern because at that
point I was completely paralysed…..all you want to be able to do is live your
life and get out of hospital…”
Therefore the results of this research to some extent disagrees with or contradicts
what McKay et al. (2000) found, this may have been due to the severity of ‘Dave’s’
injury or due to the fact that he had another identity in the medical field which
meant that rugby was the be all and end all for him.
5.5 Threats posed upon sporting career:
Young & White (1999) through interviews investigated how athlete’s experienced,
described and understood pain. They found that there were five main aspects of
pain; talking injury, hidden pains, disrespected pain, un-welcomed pain, and
depersonalised pain. Research concluded that,
“…as the athletes became immersed in the highly masculinized sub-culture of
high performance sports, they learned that athletes never quit, and that
quitters are not athletes.” (Coakley & Donnelly, 1999 p. 198).
Having considered this conclusion we can establish that men who are involved in
‘masculine’ sports, for example rugby, perceive that showing signs of injury means
showing signs of weakness which in a masculine dominated environment is less
accepted. As ‘Dave’ described he would continue to play with minor injuries, in order
to make sure he could get on the field, and live up the ‘masculine’ expectations of
the sport.
30
Cury (1993) investigated how athletes begin to accept pain and injury as part
of the sports role identity, through means of a case study which included a wrestler.
The study found that the participant had learned to appreciate pain, using it as a
motivator. Similarly to Cury (1993), this research project used a case study of a male
who was part of what is classed as a ‘masculine’ sport, that is, rugby. However, in
contrast the results of this research project provide very little evidence that support
Cury (1993) results. Although ‘Dave’ continued to participate in sports even though
injured, thus illustrating how injuries are normalised in ‘masculine’ sports, “...rugby
in particular can be a macho type image...” ‘Dave’ learned how to cope with pain
due to having so many injuries throughout his sporting career. However he did not
mention that he appreciated pain or even used it as a motivator. A possible reason
for this is, all of the injuries he had previous to his neck injury were at a very young
age, and at this point he was not involved in professional sports, thus having no
reason to perceive injuries as a ‘threat’.
5.6 Compulsory retirement from sport:
Swain (1999) explored experiences of ‘moving on’ from elite sports using an
interview technique. He described how “popular press” had created an inaccurate
picture or a stereotype of the former athlete as, “sorry and cast-off figure who was
unable to cope with a world outside sports.” (Swain, 1999 p.224). Due to personal
experience of having to retire from sports Swain disagreed with this statement. The
Participants in this study were not forced to retire due to injury they had decided to
retire themselves. Participants described leaving sports as an indecisive and
confusing time but not a traumatic one. Swain (1999) recognition of perceptions of
former athletes could arguably be a correct. ‘Dave’ shields himself from the press
being able to make similar assumptions to what Swain (1999) described, by for
example not exercising in a gym, so that he could maintain the effects of his injury as
personal as possible,
“I didn’t want to go to a gym and do it in front of people, because you know
and after doing exercise I become extremely uncoordinated for a time
afterwards…I
didn’t
want
all
31
that
to
be
very
public…”
Sparkes & Smtith (2005) interviewed fourteen men who had experienced
spinal cord injuries through playing rugby, and as a result disabled thus forcing
retirement. The paper discussed how the participants looked for a cure, and felt that
if they gave up fighting against their injury and disability they would consider
themselves and be considered as failures. The participants had also adopted the
ideology that there was nothing for them outside of sports. Athletes had discovered
that they needed to understand who they are before athletic identity could be
reconstructed. Subsequently the paper concludes the developing self is seen as an
identity, rather than a specific identity with regards to which sports they were
involved in, also stating that the individuals are free to explore new identities as
possibilities emerge. Similarly to Sparkes and Smith (2005) this research project
interviewed an individual who had experienced a spinal cord injury through playing
rugby and as a result had left him disabled, forcing retirement. The participant
described having numerous identities prior to his injury,
“…I don’t think anyone is defined by one thing…I was lots of things…I certainly
saw myself as a rugby player…that was part of my identity…I was also a
medical student at the same time as well so I was all of those things…”
As Sparkes and Smith (2005) discovered, participants felt that there was nothing for
them outside of sports, which arguably may have been responsible for how they
coped during the difficult period of injury. The fact that ‘Dave’ had numerous
identities prior to injury, he may have coped better with coming to terms with injury
because he knew there was something for him in life other than sports, “…that was
never a consideration as to whether or not I would have a career outside of sport
because I did have one…” . With regards to exploring new identities post injury, this
was very true in ‘Dave’s’ situation. Subsequent to leaving sports he was asked to
work on television, covering rugby, thus enabling to discover a new identity still
involving sports but this time from a different perspective and also allowing
maintenance of an athletic identity, which had proved significant in the
rehabilitation process,
32
“...because I went in to television after a year I was still, my identity wit rugby
was maintained…it’s not something I wanted to do to get back in to rugby, I
saw it as a different career,… I think I still see it as very separate…”
5.7 Life beyond sports:
In order to fully understand the retirement experience it is important to
understand how sport was a part of an athlete’s life, and if it still is a part of one’s
life. Coakley & Donnelly (1999) recognised four factors that contribute to the
explanation of changes in sport participation; the general circumstances surrounding
changes, the identity issues related to the change, developmental life course issues
at the time of changes, and the availability of resources for making transitions in to
other roles (Coakley & Donnelly, 1999 p.197). As an elite sports person, ‘Dave’
explained how there was and still is very little resources available in order to help
athletes in the transition out of sports. He talked about how the National Health
Service fails to provide, but there is a charity that does provide some resources for
things needed in the home for example.
“…there wasn’t any, there isn’t any, and there isn’t for anybody…there is a
charity called the Welsh charitable trust, which umm can help provide some
resources….there
is
very
little
umm
organised
support
umm
anywhere…people haven’t really got to grips with what is required…”
As Coakley & Donnelly (1999) identified the availability of resources for
making transitions in to other roles, is one vital characteristic in order to ensure the
transition out of sport be least traumatic as possible. Although ‘Dave’ describes that
there are very little resources available, he was in a very fortunate position that due
to the fact he had captained Wales the resources available to him would be entering
the television world, which he described as something that aided the rehabilitation
process. “…that’s been a very positive part of my umm recovery through and that
identity with rugby still…”
33
Chapter Six:
Conclusion.
6.0 Conclusion
In conclusion, it is therefore apparent that in order to fully understand the
experiences of retirement from sports (Coakley & Donnelly, 1999), it is vital to
understand how and where sport fitted in to ones life previously. It became
apparent that ‘Dave’ did not feel that sport was his number one priority, therefore
his experiences of retirement being arguably less traumatic than individuals who felt
that there was nothing for them beyond sports. It is also apparent that injuries such
as ‘Dave’s’, that is, spinal cord injuries, effect masculinity (Sparkes, 1999, Sparkes &
Smith, 2003), for reasons such as the athletic body being no more and failing to fully
live up to ‘masculine norms’ constructed by society. Possessing more than one
identity or redefining ones identity long before injury also proved to protect ones
athletic identity during the transition out of sport (Lally, 2006). This research
contributes to existing knowledge as it examines an individual who experienced
retirement ten years previous to this research, and an individual who always knew
that sport would not be his career for life regardless of whether he would have been
injured as severely as he did.
Sparkes & Smith (2003), Sparkes (1999), Sparkes (2003) all investigated a similar
topic to what this research project has, that is career terminating injury,
predominantly spinal cord injury and masculinity. Differently to the studies listed,
this research project took a retrospective perspective. The individual in this research
had been injured ten years previously, thus furthering the research in this field.
Having considered the research question under investigation, that is, career ending
sporting injuries and the loss of athletic identity, which could be argued a sensitive
topic, an interview was the best way to explore this topic fully as, Smith et al. (2009)
explain interviews, “allow for discussion of sensitive issues” which allowed the
researcher to then delve deeper in to certain subjects, gaining better understanding.
Although these are all very positive aspects of the research, there are some draw
backs which equally need to be considered.
34
6.1 Limitations:
The interpretation of data/transcripts can sometimes prove problematic
(Mason, 1996 p.191). At the time of the interview it is understood what participant is
trying to say or get across and in what context, but then when the researcher may
read it at a later date, this is where interpretation issues arise. Additionally the
interview was only conducted on one occasion meaning that the researcher can only
obtain the participants perceptions at that particular time. If asked the same
questions at a later date the responses may be different, as Somekh & Lewin (2005)
state, “…interviewing alone can result in an overly empiricist analysis- locked into the
‘here-and-now’ of participants’ perceptions” (p.35). The participant was only
interview once, and this lasting for approximately one hour an a half. An additional
interview using the same interview guide could have been executed in order to
compare either responses to each question, or possibly interviewing the participant
for a longer period of time. However, due to the fact that the participant works on
television he is interviewed on a weekly basis therefore, knew how to answer each
question efficiently and precisely, containing detailed information.
6.2 Future research suggestions:
In order to further this research beyond what has been, a case study on a female
could have also been included. Existing research such as Sparkes (1999) and
Messner (1989) both identified that sporting injuries resulting in career
termination shatter masculinity; it would be interesting to investigate if females
experience similar effects on their femininity and ‘masculinity’ to some extent,
attained through sport. Alternatively the sample could have also included an
individual who was not forced to retire from sports, retiring for other reasons.
Sparkes & Smith (1999) explored retirement experiences of athletes being forced
to retire describing retirement as traumatic. Furthermore Swain (1999)
investigated retirement experiences of athletes not being forced to retire, where
athletes decried the experience as not being as traumatic. Therefore, a
comparison of both experiences would prove interesting, but both athletes would
have had retired approximately ten years previous to the research.
35
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39
Appendices.
Appendix A
UIWC Participant Consent form.
UREC reference no.:
Title of project: ‘An exploration of career ending sporting injury and the loss
of athletic identity in one elite rugby player.’
Name of Researcher: Sophie John
This section for participant completion.
(Please sign initials in each box)
1. I can confirm that I have read the participant information form
dated…………….. and I understand all of the information presented.
I have also had the opportunity to ask any questions and have
been given answers to a satisfactory level.
2. I understand that my participation is voluntary and I
have the right to stop or withdraw from participation at any time.
3. I also understand that if this happens, my relations with
UWIC or my legal rights are not affected in any way.
4. I understand that the information obtained from the research may
be used for reporting purposes but, I will not be identified through out.
5. Therefore, I agree to be a participant involved in this research.
Name of participant
Date
Participant signature
Appendix B
UREC Reference No. :
Title of Project: ‘An exploration of career ending sporting injury and the loss of
athletic identity in one elite rugby player.’
Participant Information Sheet.
Background:
This research is aimed at investigating the experiences athletes undergo when faced
with an injury that forces retirement form elite sports. The main purpose of the
research is to discover what effect these experiences have on an individual’s athletic
identity. In order to discover this information, an individual in-depth interview will
be conducted. This means that one former elite rugby player (who has experienced a
career ending injury) will be interviewed with regards to his experience of this period
in his life, and the transition form sports into everyday life leaving sports behind.
The information obtained from this research will be transcribed and presented as an
undergraduate research dissertation.
Why have you been chosen?:
You have been chosen to be part of this research as you were an elite rugby player,
and unfortunately experienced an injury that prevented playing sports at an elite
level. You are also still heavily involved with rugby, and therefore have the potential
to provide means of additional and further research within the field of sociology and
sports by giving your account of the experience of leaving elite sports.
If you agree to be part of the research?:
If you do agree to partake in this research, you will be asked to attend one interview
session. Within this session you will be the only participant present. Through out the
interview you will be asked questions regarding rugby, injury and your experience of
retirement from elite sports.
What are the risks?:
The interview topic can be a sensitive one when discussing retirement that was
forced through injury, although, if you do feel uncomfortable at any time or feel the
need to withdraw, this is perfectly fine as you are under no obligation to participate.
Your Rights:
If you decide to participate in this research, you are not giving up any legal or
statutory rights. In the unlikely event of something going somewhat wrong, UWIC
ensure that participants and researchers are covered by insurance. If for any reason
you chose not to participate, no questions will be asked and you will not be expected
to provide a reason why you have declined.
What happens to the information obtained as a result of this research?:
All of the obtained information will be kept in a locked filing cabinet at UWIC, giving
no access to any unauthorised person, in accordance to the Data Protection Act
(1998). On transcribing the information, all will be coded in order to remove names
etc. and the text will not include any description, which would make identifying
individuals possible.
This information will be stored for some time after the
completion, but will not be accessed. This information will then be presented as
undergraduate dissertation research.
Further information:
If you have any further questions that you feel are not covered in this form, do not
hesitate to contact,
Sophie John
[email protected]
Appendix C: Interview Guide.
Section 1: Pre-injury:
How did you get in to rugby?
When did it start getting serious?
Was anything else important to you at the time?

Family/Study/Hobbies/ Other sports
How did sports fit in to your life?

Has it always been rugby? /Did you have to choose between other sports?
Has sports limited or expanded your identity and experiences?
How do you view sporting injuries?
As an athlete did you ever consider that injury (of any description) was inevitable?

Is injury part of being an athlete?

Is injury nomalised?
When you were playing rugby how did you feel about your body?

Did you think about it?

Take your body for granted?
How did you get injured?

Expand on details.
Section 2: During injury:
Did you feel like a different person during injury?

Did you know who you were?

Has anything changed now?
Tell me about retiring from rugby?

When?

Can you expand? How did you feel?

Can you describe this period in your life?

Emotionally mature to cope or does this not matter?
How did you feel about your body at this time?

Is it important to you?
When you got injured was this the first time you realised that your physical body was
central to your identity and you as a person?
Do you feel that being injured affected your masculinity?

How do you feel about it now?
Did you think that it was minor injury or did you know it was serious immediately
because of numerous past injuries?
How long after injury did you find out that you would never play rugby again?
How did this make you feel?

How did your family feel from a medical and parental perspective?
Did you feel that because you had another identity in the medical field before you
got injured, that this protected your sporting identity during the transition out of
sports?
You captained Wales numerous times, how did your injury affect your identity as a
captain?
Section 3: Post injury:
How did your injury affect your family?
You’re in contact with many elite rugby players regularly, how does that make you
feel towards them?
How do you feel when you watch rugby?
Rugby was your career, so when you got injured and had to stop playing, did you feel
that there were any career options for you outside of the sport?

Spent so much time playing rugby did you feel you had enough
experiences to visualise your life outside of rugby?
As an elite sports person, were there any resources available to you in the transition
away from sports?
Did you find yourself trying to do other things whilst recovering? Not to feel like back
pain was taking over your life?
On recovery did you begin to redefine yourself?

See yourself as a Dr. rather than a rugby player?
How long after injury did you engage in exercise again? Or can’t you?
How do you feel about your body now post injury?
Did you find other people in the same position as yourself? Or did you help others I
your position?
How long after rehabilitation was it before you were involved in rugby again?

Voluntary?

Asked?
Would you say your identity as an athlete began to re-establish when you began to
be involved in rugby again?
Is rugby as important to you now as it was when you were playing?
What is life like now?
What is meaningful in life now?
Appendix D: Interview transcript.
Interviewer: Sophie John
Date: 18.12.2009
Participant: ‘Dave’
Time: 19:00
Location: the interview took place in the participant’s house, in the kitchen. We sat at a
table with the Dictaphone between us.
S: Ok. Umm this is to with your body, so when you were playing rugby how did you feel
about your body? Or did not even think about it? Or took it for granted?
D: In what respect?
S: Did you think about your body at all when you were playing sport, did you think,
because your body at the time, because you were an athlete was central to you as a
person then…
D: oh right
S: Or did you not even ever think about it?
D: Not on those terms, what did I think? I think that umm you know I was frustrated that I
had so many injuries in comparison to others, but umm aware of the fact that we are all
different, umm you know and every body type is different umm (pause), fairly phlegmatic
about injuries because I had to be having been what I’ve been through, so umm you know I
wasn’t worried about anything in particular, there was nothing you know, I certainly
wouldn’t go on the field worried about my body being able to hold up, that never really
crossed my mind. Umm and you know just, occasionally frustrated is probably the best way
to describe it more than anything else.
S: Yes. Ok so, can you tell me about the period in your life when you were retired from
rugby, or were forced to stop playing.
D: What do you want to know? What do you want to know exactly?
S: How did you feel? Did you feel like you knew yourself at that time?
D: Right, right when I got injured it was such a you know, a life not career ending, life
changing injury
S: Yeah, yeah
D: rugby was of minor, in fact it wasn’t of any sort of concern, because at that point I was
completely paralysed from quite high up in my neck down, umm you know I had no
movement in any limbs and you know being able to play rugby was you know of no
consequence at all. All you want to be able to do is live your life and get out of hospital at
some point, so retiring from rugby had initially and you know subsequently probably was
just the least of my worries, and I did not care about not being able to play rugby again.
S: No, no ok. So did you feel like a different person during injury?
D: During injury or during that injury?
S: Yes during that injury!
D: Yes, well your life changes completely because umm being successful as well you define
your self in lots of different ways, I don’t think any one is defined by one thing, but I was lots
of things, you know umm and I certainly saw my self as a rugby player, therefore you know
fit and strong and athletic person umm that was part of my identity, umm and you know I
was also a medical student at the time as well so I was all those things, but you know yeah,
you have to (pause)umm re-evaluate exactly how you feel about your self and your own
image because that’s not how you will seen by others or ever again, especially if you’ve had
a big injury, and quite a public injury like I had at the time. Then every one now won’t
remember me as the guy who played for Wales, they’ll remember me as the guy who played
for Wales and got the neck injury. Which you know is, although you know this is always
going to be my identity to lots of other people, it’s not how I want myself to be seen either is
it?! But that’s what has happened obviously.
S: No of course. Did you feel that injury then affected you masculinity? Or was it…
D: Not masculinity, no, no umm I mean no not in that, I mean if effects your identity and
your confidence and your self esteem, because lots of those things are bound up in the
position that your in and the things that you do everyday. You lose lots of those things and
then your identity is slipped away and you don’t quite know what you are, but in terms of
masculinity or anything like that, sexuality or anything like that you know those types of self
images, they weren’t affected. Its other people’s perceptions of you worry about and your
very conscious of and umm self aware, umm also because of being disabled is different
because, you know and those things will never change. You always feel, no not always, you
sometimes feel as if you have to explain yourself to people, umm because of what’s
happened um because you know you can’t, I don’t walk the same way I don’t move the
same way, and so people who don’t know me and don’t remember or are not aware of
things in terms of rugby have a very different perception of me than everyone else, so umm
its all linked to the loss of you know your self image and abilities.
S: So you are in contact with a lot of successful rugby players now….
D: well yes, some of them talk to me most of them don’t (laughs).
S: yes (laughs) so how does that make you feel towards them?
D: oh umm I have no, you know fine I get on well with them, well the ones I get on with,
umm I mean umm well there’s two groups really, there’s people who played with me and I
played with and I know from playing days, and umm you know for most of those because I
had my medical career as well my best friends were always in that field, I had a couple of
good friends in rugby and I stayed quite good friends with those, I don’t see them as often
because everyone’s lives change a lot,
S: ye, ye.
D: but umm and so that has never been a problem I always got on well with them, its just
now that there’s a new cohort of people who I’ve never played with and you know and if
they are nineteen then they wouldn’t remember twelve years ago when I got injured so ,
there are people now who I don’t know in any other way than the relationship I have with
them currently from television and so that’s a very different relationship then, but in terms
of you know seeing them play and umm you know their bodies or whatever, their athletic
ability you know I’m not bitter, or I’m not umm envious of their lifestyle or their money or
any of that sort of stuff I have absolutely no interest in that sort of stuff.
S: ok so, how do you feel when you watch rugby then?
D: I’m fine, you know I can look at it very dispassionately and try to be as objective as I can
and umm there are only very rarely times when I cringe a little and they are the times when
obviously some ones had a very bad neck injury and umm you know it does take you back
quite quickly then, umm and you do look sometimes at the game some times at some
collisions and you know you worry that some one is going to get hurt, or that could look like
a nasty one from a neck point of view, but umm that hasn’t I mean very, very selemen that
happens thankfully so otherwise I look at the game now as I would have done before there’s
no bearing otherwise.
S: Yes. So you began to redefine yourself as probably a doctor rather than a sports person
then?
D: Yes, yes, but because I went in to television after a year I was still, my identity with rugby
was maintained um and you know the only reason why I was there was because I used to
play and captained Wales, so that identity remained being a rugby player. Yeah I mean It
was hard but umm, that was a big problem for me, was redefining my self because
everything changed so very quickly, not just the rugby which was obviously a big part of my
identity as you know an athletic, young bloke who you make lots of assumptions about
yourself, that changed but also I was now I didn’t know whether I’d be able to go back to
university to be a doctor and I didn’t know what my future quality of life was going be either,
so how to redefine your self, you know try to grab or form a new identity of your self was
very difficult, you know umm and to come to terms with never being the same again and
being you know a person with a disability for the rest of my life was very difficult.
S: Did you at all engage in any exercise when you were recovered?
D: umm not exercise, but only after a long time really I would say, when did I start doing any
exercise? Umm I did a little bit after about a year, but only for about four or five weeks and I
didn’t like it because it was so different I was so limited I couldn’t do anything I wanted to
do, you know it was so different, um so I didn’t bother for a long time, and then it took me
until about umm (pause) just trying to think it would probably be about 2005, so that would
be about umm eight years after my accident that I started really trying to do more exercise
and not for any other purpose than my general health, you know not for obviously nothing
competitive, umm just because I enjoyed training I always have done but now you had to
redefine your goals and I was doing it for a different reason, umm and I was also very limited
in what I could do, so I couldn’t for example, I mean I couldn’t, for example I used to enjoy
running but I can’t run. The only thing I can do now to any sort of standard is, where I can
get my heart rate up to 170 or whatever I want to get it to, the only thing I can do like that is
rowing, so I bought a rowing machine and put it up in the house because I didn’t obviously
want anyone to see me, I didn’t want to row in front of other people either because it took a
long time for me to get enough stamina and strength to be able to row half tidily, so I
wanted to do it my own privacy because I didn’t want to go to a gym and do it in front of
other people, because you know and after doing exercise I become extremely
uncoordinated for a time afterwards, so you know I didn’t want all that to be very public
either so I just found it easier to do it at home and more convenient.