“Just Act Normal”: Concussion and the (Re)negotiation of Athletic Identity

in Sociology of Sport Journal

Click name to view affiliation

Nikolaus A. DeanUniversity of British Columbia

Search for other papers by Nikolaus A. Dean in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMedClose
*
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2018-0033
In Print:
Volume 36: Issue 1
Page Range:
22–31
Restricted access

In this autoethnography, I describe my own personal experiences and dealings with a sport-related concussion. In particular, I focus on the (re)negotiation of my student- athlete identity due to the repercussive affects of concussion. Weaving together personal narratives with Erving Goffman’s presentation of self theory, I attempt to highlight some of the complexities of the injury in relation to athletic identity, and use the theory as a departure point to further discuss how sport-related concussion can be understood within a socio-cultural context. In doing so, I attempt to move beyond my own personal experiences, as a way to comment on the larger social, cultural, and political forces that affect how athletes come to understand and embody concussion.

Dean is with the School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Address author correspondence to Nikolaus A. Dean at nik.dean@ubc.ca.
  • Collapse
  • Expand

Sociology of Sport Journal

Cover Sociology of Sport Journal

  • Adams, T.E., Holman Jones, S., & Ellis, C. (2014). Autoethnography: Understanding qualitative research. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Allen-Collinson, J. (2017). Injured, pained and disrupted bodies. In M.L. Silk, D.L. Andrews, & H. Thorpe (Eds.), Routledge handbook of physical cultural studies (pp. 267–276). New York, NY: Routledge.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Allen-Collinson, J., & Hockey, J. (2007). ‘Working out’ identity: Distance runners and the management of disrupted identity. Leisure Studies, 26(4), 381–398. doi:10.1080/02614360601053384

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Anderson, E., & Kian, E.M. (2011). Examining media contestation of masculinity and head trauma in the National Football League. Men and Masculinities, 15, 152–173. doi:10.1177/1097184X11430127

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Barth, J.T. (2012). A concussion tale: Epilogue for the JCSP special series on sport- related concussion. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 6, 409–414. doi:10.1123/jcsp.6.4.409

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Benson, P. (2017). Big football: Corporate social responsibility and the culture and color of injury in America’s most popular sport. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 41(4), 307–334. doi:10.1177/0193723517707699

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Blinde, E.M., & Stratta, T.M. (1992). The ‘sport career death’ of college athletes: Involuntary and unanticipated sport exits. Journal of Sport Behaviour, 15(1), 3–20.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Brayton, S., Helstein, M.T., Ramsey, M., & Rickards, N. (2019). Exploring the missing link between the concussion “crisis” and labour politics in professional sports. Communication & Sport. 7(11), 110–131. doi:10.1177/2167479517740342

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Brewer, B.W., Van Raalte, J.L., & Linder, D.E. (1993). Athletic identity: Hercules’ muscle or Achilles heel? International Journal of Sport Psychology, 24(2), 237–254.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Budgeon, S. (2003). Identity as an embodied event. Body and Society, 9(1), 35–55. doi:10.1177/1357034X030091003

  • Curry, T.J. (1993). A little pain never hurt anyone: Athletic career socialization and the normalization of sports injury. Symbolic Interaction, 16(3), 273–290. doi:10.1525/si.1993.16.3.273

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Daneshvar, D.H., Nowinski, C.J., McKee, A.C., & Cantu, R.C. (2011). The epidemiology of sport-related concussion. Clinics in Sports Medicine, 30(1), 1–17. doi:10.1016/j.csm.2010.08.006

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Dashper, K. (2013). Getting better: An autoethnographic tale of recovery from sport injury. Sociology of Sport Journal, 30, 323–339. doi:10.1123/ssj.30.3.323

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Dashper, K. (2015). Revise, resubmit and reveal? An autoethnographer’s story of facing the challenges of revealing the self through publication. Current Sociology, 63(4), 511–527. doi:10.1177/0011392115583879

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Denzin, N.K. (1997). Performance texts. In W.G. Tierner & Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.), Reframing the narrative voice (pp. 179–218). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Donnelly, P. (2004). Sport and risk culture. In K. Young (Ed.), Sporting bodies, damaged selves: Sociological studies of sports-related injury (pp. 29–58). Oxford, UK: Elsevier Press.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Eisenberg, M.A., Meehan, W.P., & Mannix, R. (2014). Duration and course of post- concussive symptoms. Paediatrics, 133(6), 999–1006.

  • Ellis, C. (2004). The ethnographic I: A methodological novel about autoethnography. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press.

  • Ellis, C. (2009). Revision: Autoethnographic reflections on life and work. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.

  • Gaetz, M. (2017). The multi-factorial origins of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) symptomology in post-career athletes: The athlete post-career adjustment (AP-CA) model. Medical Hypotheses, 102, 130–143. PubMed ID: 28478818 doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2017.03.023

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. New York, NY: Anchor Books.

  • Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Inc.

  • Green, S.L., & Weinberg, R.S. (2001). Relationships among athletic identity, coping skills, social support, and the psychological impact of injury in recreation participants. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 13(1), 40–59. doi:10.1080/10413200109339003

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Hagel, B., & Meuwisse, W. (2004). A ‘side effect’ of sport injury prevention? Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, 14, 193–196. doi:10.1097/00042752-200407000-00001

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Howe, P.D. (2001). An ethnogprahy of pain and injury in professional rugby union. International Review for The Sociology of Sport, 36(3), 289–303. doi:10.1177/101269001036003003

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Hughes, R., & Coakley, J. (1991). Positive deviance among athletes: The implications of overconformity to the sport ethic. Sociology of Sport Journal, 8, 307–325. doi:10.1123/ssj.8.4.307

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Jago, B. (1996). Postcards, ghosts, and fathers: Revisiting family stories. Qualitative Inquiry, 2(4), 495–516. doi:10.1177/107780049600200406

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Kerr, Z.Y., Register-Mihalik, J.K., Marshall, S.W., Evenson, K.R., Mihalik, J.P., & Guskiewicz, K.M. (2014). Disclosure and non-disclosure of concussion and concussion symptoms in athletes: Review and application of the socio-ecological framework. Brain Injury, 28(8), 1009–1021. PubMed ID: 24738743 doi:10.3109/02699052.2014.904049

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • King, D., Brughelli, M., Hume, P., & Gissane, C. (2014). Assessment, management and knowledge of sport-related concussion: Systematic review. Sports Medicine, 44, 449–471. PubMed ID: 24403125 doi:10.1007/s40279-013-0134-x

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Kroshus, E., Garnett, B., Hawrilenko, M., & Baugh, C.M. (2015). Concussion under-reporting and pressure from coaches, teammates, fans, and parents. Social Science & Medicine, 134, 66–75. PubMed ID: 25917137 doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.04.011

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Langlois, J.A., Rutland-Brown, W., & Wald, M.M. (2006). The epidemiology and impact of traumatic brain injury: A brief overview. The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 21, 375–378. PubMed ID: 16983222 doi:10.1097/00001199-200609000-00001

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Laurendeau, J. (2011). “If you’re reading this, it’s because I’ve died”: Masculinity and relational risk in BASE jumping. Sociology of Sport Journal, 28, 404–420. doi:10.1123/ssj.28.4.404

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Laurendeau, J. (2014). “Just tape it up for me, ok?”: Masculinities, injury and embodied emotion. Emotion, Space and Society, 12, 11–17. doi:10.1016/j.emospa.2013.03.010

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Laurendeau, J. (2019). “You don’t need any of that stuff”: (Re)stor(y)ing my(nd/)body. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health. 11(2), 246–257. doi:10.1080/2159676X.2018.1433227

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Liston, K., McDowell, M., Malcolm, D., Scott-Bell, A., & Waddington, I. (2018). On being ‘head strong’: The pain zone and concussion in non-elite rugby union. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 53(6), 668–684. doi:10.1177/1012690216679966

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Malcolm, D. (2018). Concussion in sport: Public, professional and critical sociologies. Sociology of Sport Journal, 35(2), 141–148. doi:10.1123/ssj.2017-0113

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • McCrory, P., Meeuwisse, W.H., Dvorak, J., Aubry, M., Bailes, J., Broglio, S., . . . Vos, P.E. (2017). Consensus statement on concussion in sport: The 5th international conference on concussion in sport held in Berlin, October 2016. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 51(11), 838–847. PubMed ID: 28446457

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • McGannon, K.R., Cunningham, S.M., & Schinke, R.J. (2013). Understanding concussion in socio-cultural context: A media analysis of a National Hockey League star’s concussion. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14, 891–899. doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2013.08.003

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • McKee, A.C., Stein, T.D., Nowinski, C.J., Stern, R.A., Daneshvar, D.H., Alvarez, V.E., . . . Cantu, R.C. (2012). The spectrum of disease in chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Brain: A Journal of Neurology, 136(1), 43–64. doi:10.1093/brain/aws307

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • McMahon, J., & McGannon, K. (2017). Re-immersing into elite swimming culture: A meta-autoethnography by a former elite swimmer. Sociology of Sport Journal, 34(3), 223–234. doi:10.1123/ssj.2016-0134

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2018). Definition of normal. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/normal

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Messner, M.A. (1990). When bodies are weapons: Masculinity and violence in sport. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 25, 203–220. doi:10.1177/101269029002500303

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Nixon, H.L. (1993a). Accepting the risks of pain and injury in sport: Mediated cultural influences on playing hurt. Sociology of Sport Journal, 10, 183–196. doi:10.1123/ssj.10.2.183

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Nixon, H.L. (1993b). Social networks analysis of sport: Emphasizing social structure in sport sociology. Sociology of Sport, 10, 315–321. doi:10.1123/ssj.10.3.315

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Nixon, H.L. (1994). Social pressure, social support, and help seeking for pain and injuries in college sports networks. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 18(4), 340–355. doi:10.1177/019372394018004004

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Nixon, H.L. (1996). The relationship of friendship networks, sports experiences, and gender to expressed pain thresholds. Sociology of Sport Journal, 13, 78–86. doi:10.1123/ssj.13.1.78

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Pike, E.C.J., & Maguire, J.A. (2003). Injury in women’s sport: Classifying key elements of “risk encounters.” Sociology of Sport Journal, 20, 232–251. doi:10.1123/ssj.20.3.232

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Richardson, L. (1994). Nine poems: Marriage and the family. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 23(1), 3–13. doi:10.1177/089124194023001001

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Roderick, M., Smith, A., & Potrac, P. (2017). The sociology of sports work, emotions and mental health: Scoping the field and future directions. Sociology of Sport Journal, 34(2), 99–107. doi:10.1123/ssj.2017-0082

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Saffary, R., Chin, L.S., & Cantu, R.C. (2011). Sports medicine: Concussions in sports. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 6, 133–140. doi:10.1177/1559827611411649

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Sanderson, J., Weathers, M., Snedaker, K., & Gramlich, K. (2017). “I was able to do my job on the field and keep playing”: An investigation of female and male athletes’ experiences with (not) reporting concussions. Communication & Sport, 5(3), 267–287. doi:10.1177/2167479515623455

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Smith, B. (1999). The abyss: Exploring depression through a narrative of the self. Qualitative Inquiry, 5(2), 264–279. doi:10.1177/107780049900500206

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Snow, D.A., & Anderson, L. (1995). The problem of identity construction among homeless. In N.J. Hermann & L.T. Reynolds (Eds.), Symbolic interaction: An introduction to social psychology. New York, NY: General Hall.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Sparkes, A.C. (2002). Autoethnography: Self indulgence or something more? In A.P. Bochner & C. Ellis (Eds.), Ethnographically speaking: Autoethnography, literature and aesthetics (pp. 209–232). Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Tullis, J.A. (2013). Self and others: Ethics in autoethnographic research. In S. Holman Jones, T.E. Adams, & C. Ellis (Eds.), Handbook of autoethnography (pp. 244–262). Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Ventresca, M. (2018). The curious case of CTE: Mediating materialities of traumatic brain injury. Communication & Sport. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/2167479518761636

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • West, C., & Zimmerman, D. (1987). Doing gender. Gender & Society, 1, 125–151. doi:10.1177/0891243287001002002

  • Young, K. (1993). Violence, risk, and liability in male sports culture. Sociology of Sport Journal, 10, 373–396. doi:10.1123/ssj.10.4.373

  • Young, K. (2004). Sports related pain and injury: Sociological notes. In K. Young (Ed.), Sporting bodies, damaged selves: Sociological studies of sports-related injury (pp. 1–25). Oxford, UK: Elsevier Press.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Young, K. (2012). Sport violence and society. New York, NY: Routledge.

  • Young, K., McTeer, W., & White, P. (1994). Body talk: Male athletes reflect on sport, injury, and pain. Sociology of Sport Journal, 11, 175–194. doi:10.1123/ssj.11.2.175

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Young, K., & White, P. (1995). Sport, physical danger, and injury: The experiences of elite women athletes. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 19(1), 45–61. doi:10.1177/019372395019001004

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Zavattaro, S. (2014). Athletic identity—or an autoethnography of almost losing a leg. Qualitative Research Journal, 14(3), 272–288. doi:10.1108/QRJ-11-2012-0027

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 3008 1545 328
Full Text Views 1504 116 24
PDF Downloads 1012 179 24