The aspect of the total institution is that is arguably least present in sports is the qualification that “all aspects of life are conducted in the same place under the same single authority.” Each sport has a commissioner, as well as a CBA and other rules governing the sport, and all of the players involved are expected to follow that authority. Depending on the sport, or (most often in the MLB) the team, there are rules which govern dress, action and sometimes even how conversations occur on and off the field, court or ice
Where sports escape the total institution label to some extent is that, in general, they are allowed to conduct aspects of their life outside of their sport. However, when contracts include morality clauses, players’ behavior when they are not at work becomes regulated by the same authority which governs their work.
Additionally, while football players have most of the week to be at home and live their lives as they please, basketball and especially baseball players, spend much more time on the road and often have college dorm like rules that structure their awake and sleeping times (NFL training camp is run similarly). Even in the case of football players, their lives off the court can often be scrutinized by their fans, the media and the league which has a similar effect as being constantly under that authority, as evidenced by the backlash around Roethlisberger’s night out during the super bowl week.
What do you think? Can we say that, despite the option to go home and live beyond the sight of their sport, professional athletes lives are still constantly monitored?
