Student attitudes towards doping in sport: Shifting from repression to tolerance?

In the debate on the use of illegal substances for performance enhancing aims, commonly referred to as doping, perceptions and interpretations of doping by significant outsiders has received little attention compared to media attention for doping in elite sports. Therefore, this study focuses on opinions on doping in elite sports by students in human movement studies covering a period from 1998-1999 to 2005-2006 (N = 555). Three research questions were examined: 1) how much attention do students pay to the issue of doping in elite sports; 2) what are the students' opinions; and 3) which arguments do students use to substantiate these opinions? A four-level model was developed to categorize the ethical arguments according to who or what is at stake: the individual athlete (the self), the athlete's opponents and social environment (the other), the sport and its fair play essence (the play) and the spectator sport and its social role (the display). Over the years studied students seem to have developed a more diffuse ethical attitude on the doping issue. A shift from the zero tolerance principle towards a more lenient attitude towards doping in elite sports is observed and discussed.