Hero or Hypocrite?

Abstract

This article examines press coverage of track and field athlete Carl Lewis amid reports in April 2003 that he tested positive for three banned stimulants prior to United States Olympic Trials in 1988. Lewis, of course, won the 1988 100-meter gold medal after Canadian Ben Johnson tested positive for anabolic steroids, a development that brought disgrace to Johnson and adulation to Lewis, the ‘purer’ athlete. Because Lewis repeatedly, and perhaps arrogantly, declared himself drug-free throughout his career, berating competitors from other nations, the author expected to observe differences in how newspapers published in the United States and newspapers published internationally covered the story. Contributing to this expectation was the time at which the story broke, when the Bush administration, dismissing the concerns of other nations, launched a military assault on Iraq. Content analysis found support for expected differences in that international journalists were highly critical of Lewis and the US Olympic Committee, portraying both as sanctimonious, arrogant, and hypocritical, not unlike broader portrayals of the Bush administration amid perceived US aggression in the Middle East.