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Deviance in sport is behaviour that is sharply different from the generally accepted standards. It is seriously breaking the written rules and accepted norms and goes far beyond gamesmanship. Deviance in sport includes deliberate dangerous fouls with intent to harm, deliberate violence, drug abuse and other forms of cheating.

Some examples of deviance include:

• cheating in football - an outfield player deliberately handling the ball
• drug-taking to improve performance - a cyclist involved in blood doping
• social drug-taking - a basketball player tested positive for class A drug
• violence/aggression - a netball player deliberately elbowing her opponent
• a sportsperson using their status to deliberately break the law - a professional rugby player caught for speeding
• a coach deliberately cheating - fielding an ineligible player in hockey
• organisational deviance - an international sports body being involved in bribery to host a global event
• illegal gambling or match fixing - a cricket player deliberately bowling wides to draw the match
• spectator violence or law breaking - football fans showing racist behaviour
• bribing or offering gifts to officials to influence their decisions in games

Deviant behaviour can have serious consequences and athletes are, perhaps, discouraged from acting in a deviant way for some of these reasons.

Violence in sport

This is uncontrolled behaviour that causes physical injury. If it occurred on the streets rather than the sports field, it would be a crime.

Some examples of player violence in sport:

• boxing – in the WBA Heavyweight championship fight, Mike Tyson was disqualified for biting off part of Evander Holyfield's ear
• rugby – in the 2015 World Cup, Argentina’s Mariano Galarza was banned for eye gouging
• football – Francesco Totti assaulted Mario Balotelli with a career-threatening kick in 2010

Reasons for player violence include:

• the importance of the result (money, position in league or competition, team rivalry)
• the nature of the game (contact sports are more likely to lead to violence, for example ice hockey versus bowls)
• provocation (crowd chanting abuse, 'sledging' by other players)
• disappointment or frustration (at own performance, the result or the officials' decisions)
• dehumanised view of the opposition (caused by protective helmets and clothing which turns opponents into objects rather than people to be respected)
• equipment (sports such as hockey and baseball use equipment that may be subconsciously viewed as 'weapons')
• crowd behaviour (aggression, abuse)
• emotional intensity (the 'cauldron' effect of the venue, media hype, over-intense 'psyching up' of players)