"'You're not a human being, you're a number, a product, an asset
as long as you can perform. If you can't perform, then you're a
liability and they'll drop you.'"
Professional
athletes suffer tremendous damage to their bodies over the course of
their careers. Some literally lose years from their lives because of
their injuries. Why do athletes sacrifice themselves? Is it the price
of being a professional? Is it all for the fans, or the money? What's
clear is that the physical and emotional tolls of being a
professional athlete may not be worthwhile. In Game Misconduct,
Nathan Kalman-Lamb takes us into the world of professional hockey
players to illustrate how money, consumerism and fandom contribute to
the life-altering injuries of professional athletes.
Unlike many critical
takes on professional sports, Kalman-Lamb illustrates how the harm
suffered by the athlete is a necessary part of what makes
professional sport a desirable commodity for the consuming fan. In an
economic system -- capitalism -- that deprives people of meaning
because of its inherent drive to turn everyone into individuals and
everything into commodities, sports fandom produces a feeling of
community. But there is a cost to producing this meaning and
community, and it is paid through the sacrifice of the athlete's
body.
Drawing on extensive
interviews with fans and former professional hockey players,
Kalman-Lamb reveals the troubling dynamics and dangerous costs
associated with the world of professional and semi-professional
sport.