A Two-Study Investigation Into How Television News Frames the Steroid Scandal in Major League Baseball and Fans’ Support for Bonds,McGwire,and Palmeiro’s Pending Induction Into the Baseball Hall of Fame

Abstract

Under the guidance of social categorization theory (SCT), this project analyzed news coverage of steroid use in major league baseball (MLB), and fans’ perceptions of three players indicted for using steroids—Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Rafael Palmeiro—should be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Study 1 results revealed that widespread attention was given to issues of legality with fewer reports regarding the health costs of using steroids between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2011, with Bonds receiving the most negative coverage for his alleged use. Study 2 examined fans’ support of Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro’s pending Hall of Fame inductions by drawing from the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and cultivation theory. The results revealed that player likability, similarity, attitudes, and subjective norms predicted support for each player with differences emerging between each player. The results are discussed with an emphasis on how SCT was used to intersect the health, media effects, and race literatures.

Keywords

steroids social categorization theory racial stereotypes

I think the American public has created a mental asterisk for players who played in this era.

—Reggie Jackson on Sporting News Radio (August 26, 2005)

Sports play a major role in American life (Butterworth, 2008). Among the sports in America, however, it is baseball that has been coined our national pastime for more than a century. In fact, in 1975, Chevrolet created a television ad with the catchy jingle, “baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet.” Throughout the ad, the lyrics suggest that despite change, baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet will always go together in the good old United States. In part, thanks to memorable jingles like this classic Chevrolet ad, baseball remains a fabric of American culture today. However, recent news coverage of alleged steroid use among many of the game’s greatest players has tarnished our national pastime.

It was the summer of 1998 and the world was enthralled in the home run chase for the ages between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa as both players competed to break Roger Maris’s 37-year-old single season home run record. In the midst of the home run race, however, an inquisitive reporter noticed androstenedione in McGwire’s locker. Despite being banned by the International Olympic Committee, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB) had not issued a ban on this over-the-counter drug, a known masking agent that prevents other banned substances from appearing in a drug test (Von Burg & Johnson, 2009). As a result of the journalist’s discovery in McGwire’s locker, suspicion began to rise over the role of performance enhancing drugs in contributing to McGwire’s home run accomplishments as well as the increased strength and power among other prominent MLB players.

Less than a decade after the discovery of androstenedione in McGwire’s locker, several MLB players (e.g., Ken Caminiti, Jose Canseco) admitted to using steroids and openly acknowledged widespread use throughout the league (Canseco, 2005; Fainaru-Wada & Williams, 2006). Given the increasing accusations of steroid use in MLB, a 21-month investigation, conducted by former Democratic Senator George J. Mitchell, investigated the breadth of steroid use in professional baseball. His 409-page report revealed the seriousness and frequency of alleged steroid use among many of the game’s best including, but not limited to, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Rafael Palmeiro. Although the steroid scandal in MLB is not the first instance of celebrity scandals studied in the extant literature (e.g., Fong & Wyer, 2012), this particular scandal has spanned more than a decade and does not seem to be coming to an end anytime soon.

Under the overarching framework of social categorization theory (SCT; Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987), two studies were conducted to examine media coverage of steroid use in professional baseball (Study 1) and fans’ reactions to alleged steroid use among Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro (Study 2). More specifically, in Study 2, we sought to expand our understanding of SCT by relying on the theory of reasoned action (TRA; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) to gain insight into categorical differences among these three players between heavy and light viewers as suggested by cultivation theory (Gerbner & Gross, 1976). Utilizing a social-psychological perspective (e.g., TRA) and a media effects theory (e.g., cultivation theory) advances our understanding of how the media affects our understanding of the world and it continues to appear in the literature as a promising strategy to advancing our theoretical sophistication (Morgan & Shanahan, 2010; Nabi & Sullivan, 2001). In essence, Study 1 presents a picture of how Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro’s alleged steroid use has been documented in the media. In Study 2, we rely on variables provided by the TRA to provide a representation of how these categorizations are formed and differentiated among heavy and light viewers.

Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro were selected because of their Hall of Fame numbers in terms of their hitting statistics. Specifically, only a handful of MLB’s greatest hitters have hit more than 500 home runs in their career, including Bonds (762), McGwire (583), and Palmeiro (569). Palmeiro also collected more than 3,000 hits in his career (3,020), making him one of the most productive hitters in history. In addition to having illustrious careers, Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro are each from distinct racial backgrounds. Specifically, Bonds is Black, McGwire is White, and Palmeiro is Latino. Research on SCT suggests that athletes are often characterized by specific attributes according to their racial backgrounds and that these prototypes often lead to stereotyping by sports commentators (e.g., Eastman & Billings, 2001; Edwards, 1971; Halone & Billings, 2010). However, unlike sports commentators, much less is known about sports journalists categorizations of players linked to steroid use from distinct racial backgrounds.

Examining how the news media frames (Goffman, 1974) alleged steroid use is important to understand considering the influence professional athletes have on their fans (Basil, 1996; Brown & Basil, 1995; Brown, Basil, & Bocarnea, 2003; Brown & de Matviuk, 2010). Framing refers to the choice of language and images utilized to communicate a message to inform an audience about a particular issue (Chong & Druckman, 2007; Tewksbury & Scheufele, 2009). In essence, uncovering what aspects of a story are selected and emphasized as well as what portions are excluded can influence public opinion (Tewksbury, Jones, Peske, Raymond, & Vig, 2000). However, to the authors’ knowledge, no research to date examines racial portrayals within MLB and no work explores and compares media depictions of alleged steroid use among individuals from diverse racial backgrounds. To address these gaps in the extant literature, we begin with a brief account of SCT.

Study 1

SCT

SCT offers an account of how individuals categorize others based on in-group and out-group characteristics (Oakes, Turner, & Haslam, 1991; Turner et al., 1987). In-group and out-group characteristics are commonly referred to as intrinsic (e.g., age, race, sex) and arbitrary (e.g., beliefs, interests) attributes of a group. Within the current study, SCT describes how sports journalists categorize athletes linked to steroid use from distinct ethnic backgrounds. The degree to which these categorizations are normalized is a function of accessibility and fit (Oakes, 1987). Accessibility refers to how often an identity is activated, whereas fit reflects the degree to which a particular identity reflects social reality (Oakes et al., 1991). In essence, these categorizations form context-dependent prototypes that individuals employ to stereotype others based on shared in-group similarities from out-group differences (Reid, Palomares, Anderson, & Bondad-Brown, 2009). Prior researchers have used SCT successfully in predicting how different racial groups are portrayed in the news (Dixon & Linz, 2000a, 2000b; Josey, Hurley, Hefner, & Dixon, 2010; Mastro & Behm-Morawitz, 2005) and in sports, more specifically (Billings, 2004). With respect to news programming, Dixon and associates discovered that Blacks are often portrayed more negatively than Whites, whereas Latinos receive considerably less coverage than both Blacks and Whites (Mastro, Behm-Morawitz, & Kopacz, 2008). Although the prototypes are different with respect to how racial groups are framed in the sports context, certain similarities have emerged in the literature among athletes participating in basketball (Eastman & Billings, 2001; Halone & Billings, 2010), football (Billings, 2004; Rada, 1996), and golf (Billings, 2003).

A considerable amount of this work reveals a reliable set of attributes given to athletes of various racial backgrounds. Specifically, content analyses of sportscasters describe White athletes as hard workers, intelligent, and exceptional leaders (Billings, 2004; Eastman & Billings, 2001). Black athletes, on the other hand, are frequently characterized by sportscasters as being superb athletes with an inspiring background of overcoming hardships as a child (Billings, 2004; Eastman & Billings, 2001; Halone & Billings, 2010; Rada, 1996). For instance, Eastman and Billings (2001) discovered that sportscasters characterize Black athletes as naturally athletic, quick, and powerful, whereas White athletes were categorized as hardworking and intelligent.

More recently, a content analysis of sport commentators covering the Men’s and Women’s NCAA Final Four Tournament games revealed Black athletes’ athletic backgrounds were accounted for more often than White athletes’ whereas Black athletes’ positive consonance (statements such as “he’s feeling it”) were discussed less than White athletes’ (Halone & Billings, 2010). In addition, Rada and Wulfemeyer (2005) found that Black athletes were depicted negatively as people. In essence, the existing literature demonstrates that Black athletes are portrayed distinctly different from White athletes by sportscasters.

With these findings in mind, a few hypotheses can be generated with respect to media coverage of alleged steroid use among Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro. Previous work investigating the barriers (e.g., illegality, health costs, drug testing, expenses associated with purchasing steroids, fines, and suspensions) and benefits (e.g., competitive edge, rehabilitation) of using steroids in MLB reveal considerably more attention is devoted to the former (Denham, 2004) and across sports in general (Quick, 2010). Negative news coverage pertaining to steroid use highlights the barriers for using steroids (e.g., reputation damage, drug testing policies, and issues of illegality). However, as cited earlier, from a players’ perspective, the benefits of using steroids include using steroids for rehabilitation purposes as well as to gain a competitive edge. Media attention emphasizing steroid use to gain a competitive edge is considered negative news coverage, whereas taking steroids for rehabilitation purposes is considered positive news coverage. Steroids prescribed by a medical doctor for rehabilitation purposes are not illegal and do not violate MLB policies.

In line with earlier SCT research, if the news media categorize athletes in similar ways as sportscasters (Billings, 2004; Halone & Billings, 2010), then it is reasonable to anticipate that journalists would be less sympathetic to the athletic Bonds in their coverage of his alleged steroid use compared with McGwire and Palmeiro. Second, with respect to background story, Bonds would likely not receive much sympathy here because he was the son of a MLB player, Bobby Bonds, and his Godfather was Baseball Hall of Famer, Willie Mays. In addition, Bonds’ inimical relationship with the media would likely not do him any favors in how his alleged steroid usage would be covered by journalists. News coverage of Bonds is best summed up by Whitlock (2006), a noteworthy sports journalist, who wrote, “Bonds provided the colors and the brush, and we painted him as a weapon of mass destruction, a threat to truth, justice and the American way” (p. 2). For all of the reasons cited above, we anticipate that Bonds would receive more negative news coverage for his alleged steroid use than McGwire and Palmeiro.

Hypothesis 1 (H1): With respect to the barriers associated with their alleged steroid use, television news coverage of Bonds’ alleged use will be more frequent than McGwire and Palmeiro.

Hypothesis 2 (H2): With respect to the benefits associated with their alleged steroid use, television news coverage of Bonds’ alleged use will be less frequent than McGwire and Palmeiro.

Although the majority of this literature compares and contrasts sportscasters’ descriptions of White and Black athletes, less attention has been given to Latino athletes. The current study seeks to expand this literature by exploring how Palmeiro’s alleged steroid use is depicted. The absence of attention to Latino athletes is consistent with earlier work by Mastro and colleagues (Mastro & Behm-Morawitz, 2005; Mastro et al., 2008). For instance, Mastro and Behm-Morawitz (2005) discovered that Latinos are underrepresented on primetime television programs and when they are depicted, they are often shown in limited roles. With these studies in mind, the following hypothesis is proposed:

Hypothesis 3 (H3): With respect to the barriers and benefits associated with their alleged steroid use, television news coverage of McGwire’s alleged use will be more frequent than Palmeiro’s alleged use.

Although not the focus of the current investigation, per se, the current study sought to further understand the media landscape’s framing of steroid use in MLB in general. Earlier investigations demonstrated that print (Denham, 2004) and television (Quick, 2010) media emphasize the barriers associated with steroid use over the benefits of using performance enhancing drugs. Moreover, Quick (2010) concluded that infrequent attention was devoted to communicating the seriousness (e.g., health consequences) and the likelihood (e.g., susceptibility) of experiencing the costs linked to steroid use in sports. To date, very little is known about how television news frames the recent alleged steroid use in MLB. In this spirit, the research question is as follows:

Research Question 1 (RQ1): With what frequency is attention given to the (a) benefits, (b) barriers, (c) severity, and (d) susceptibility to alleged steroid use among MLB players?

Method

Sample and procedures

The current project examined television news coverage of alleged steroid usage in MLB from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2011. News broadcasts, which served as the unit of analysis, were retrieved from programming appearing on ABC, CBS, CNBC, CNN, FOX, MSNBC, and NBC 24 hours a day. See the appendix for a complete list of programs analyzed in the current study. After removing duplicate news transcripts, 1,247 transcripts were analyzed. The lead author trained two individuals on the conceptualization and application of health belief model (HBM) components within the context of steroid use among professional baseball players. Following several hours of training, each coder independently coded 10% of the transcripts (Lombard, Snyder-Duch, & Bracken, 2002). Next, intercoder reliabilities were computed and disagreements were resolved. After acceptable intercoder reliabilities were achieved, the coders independently coded the remaining news transcripts. Reliability between coders was established using simple agreement (SA) and Cohen’s kappa (κ). SA was computed between the coders as a means to demonstrate coders’ overall agreement. In addition, Cohen’s kappa was computed because it corrects for chance agreement, thus constituting a more conservative estimate of coder agreement.

HBM components

Barriers

From a players’ perspective, the barriers associated with using steroids included reputation damage, financial cost, fines, health costs, suspension, drug testing policies, and issues of illegality (Denham, 2004; Quick, 2010). An acceptable intercoder reliability for barriers was attained (SA = 0.97, κ = 0.97) as was the reliability for each subcategory: reputation damage (SA = 0.93, κ = 0.91), financial cost (SA = 1.0, κ = 1.0), fines (SA = 0.99, κ = 0.99), health costs (SA = 1.03, κ = 1.0), suspension (SA = 0.96, κ = 0.94), drug testing policies (SA = 0.94, κ = 0.92), and issues of illegality (SA = 0.96, κ = 0.96).

Benefits

Overall, coders established an acceptable reliability in identifying the benefits of using steroids (SA = 0.92, κ = 0.84). According to earlier research (Denham, 2004; Quick, 2010), players use these banned substances to gain a competitive edge and for rehabilitation purposes. Coders achieved an acceptable intercoder reliability for both competitive edge (SA = 0.98, κ = 0.87) and rehabilitation (SA = 1.0, κ = 1.0).

Severity

Steroid use is associated with a number of health complications (e.g., heart complications, liver failure). The coders established a respectable intercoder reliability for severity (SA = 0.98, κ = 0.97). Across the myriad health costs identified in the news transcripts, the reliabilities for SA ranged from 1.0 to 0.98 and Cohen’s kappa values ranged from 1.0 to 0.88.

Susceptibility

Susceptibility of experiencing the health costs from using steroids was communicated via factual and hypothetical examples and statistics. Overall, the coders established an acceptable intercoder reliability for susceptibility (SA = 0.98, κ = 0.97). In addition, each subcategory was reliably coded: factual example (SA = 0.98, κ = 0.97), hypothetical example (SA = 0.95, κ = 0.95), and statistics (SA = 1.0, κ = 1.0).

Data analysis strategy

In order to test for frequency differences between major categories, chi-square goodness of fit statistics were used. However, because each category was considered nonindependent because each unit of analysis, defined as a news transcript, could contain more than one category, Cochran’s Q tests were utilized. Following a significant Cochran’s Q test, McNemar tests were conducted to determine where significant differences emerged. To reduce the likelihood of committing a Type I error, we divided the conventional alpha level of .05 by the number of pairwise comparisons per category, which varied per HBM construct.

Results

With respect to the research question, the content analysis revealed that the majority of transcripts cited the benefits of using steroids (n = 798), χ²(1, N = 1247) = 97.68, p < .001. A considerable amount of news stories highlighted players gaining a competitive edge (n = 430) from using steroids, whereas less coverage depicted players using steroids for rehabilitative (n = 40) and cosmetic (n = 23) purposes, Q(2, N = 1247) = 713.09, p < .001. Each benefit was statistically different at p < .0167.

Nearly all of the news stories referenced the barriers associated with steroid use (n = 1,121), χ²(1, N = 1247) = 793.93, p < .001. That said, the results revealed variation in which barriers were presented, Q(6, N = 1247) = 3,191.66, p < .001. Of the barriers identified, reputation damage (n = 984) received the most coverage followed by drug testing procedures (n = 323), health costs (n = 195), suspension (n = 186), issues of illegality (n = 91), fines (n = 29), and financial costs associated with using steroids (n = 4). Frequency differences emerged between the above-mentioned barriers with p < .002.

The majority of news stories did not communicate the health costs associated with steroid use (n = 1,032), χ²(1, N = 1247) = 535.28, p < .001. Of the health costs identified, suicide (n = 76) was mentioned most frequently. For a complete list of health costs mentioned in the news stories, see Table 1. News coverage communicating the susceptibility of experiencing these health costs was infrequently communicated (n = 90), χ²(1, N = 1247) = 912.98, p < .001. The majority of stories relied on factual (n = 80) and hypothetical (n = 14) examples and none used statistics, Q(2, N = 1247) = 123.06, p < .001. McNemar test results revealed significant differences among these three formats at p ≤ .0167.

Table 1.

Health Costs Identified in News Transcripts.

Health cost	Frequency
Acne	45
Aggression	69
Baldness	7
Birth defects	1
Blood pressure increases	6
Breast development	14
Cancer	27
Cholesterol complications	5
Death	46
Deepened voice	8
Diabetes	1
Erection pain	1
Facial hair	5
Heart complications	33
Hepatitis	1
Infertility	5
Jaundice	4
Liver failure	39
Mental illness	20
Osteoporosis	2
Sex drive fluctuation	9
Sperm reduction	2
Suicide	76
Testicle shrinkage	30
Testosterone reduction	1
Water retention	5
Weight fluctuation	9

H1, H2, and H3 examined how much attention was devoted to the barriers and benefits associated with Bonds’, McGwire’s, and Palmeiro’s alleged steroid use. More specifically, H1 and H2 predicted that Bonds would receive less favorable coverage with respect to barriers and benefits than McGwire and Palmeiro. H3 predicted that McGwire would receive more favorable coverage than Palmeiro. With respect to Bonds, the presentation of barriers differed across the news transcripts, Q(6, N = 1217) = 2,952.74, p < .001. Specifically, the majority of transcripts cited reputation damage (n = 544), followed by steroid testing policies (n = 24), suspension (n = 19), issues of illegality (n = 10), health costs (n = 4), and fines (n = 1). For McGwire, much like Bonds, barrier differences varied considerably, Q(6, N = 1216) = 1,391.44, p < .001 with reputation damage (n = 252) receiving the most attention followed by issues of illegality (n = 9), steroid testing policies (n = 8), health costs (n = 4), and suspension (n = 1). For Palmeiro, coverage of the barriers also varied, Q(6, N = 1216) = 610.49, p < .001, with reputation damage (n = 137) referenced most frequently followed by suspension (n = 37), steroid testing policies (n = 24), and issues of illegality (n = 1).

In support of H1, H2, and H3, a Cochran’s Q test revealed differences in reputation damage among the three players with Bonds (n = 544) receiving the most negative attention followed by McGwire (n = 252) and Palmeiro (n = 137), Q(2, N = 1247) = 397.43, p < .001. McNemar tests revealed significant differences among all three players at p < .001. With respect to the barriers, the hypotheses were fully supported. See Table 2 for frequency differences with respect to these barriers using McNemar tests.

Table 2.

Barriers of Using Steroids.

	Bonds	McGwire	Palmeiro	Overall
Fines	1_a	0_a	0_a	29_a
Financial costs	0_a	0_a	0_a	4_b
Health costs	4_b	4_ab	0_a	195_c
Illegality	10_b	9_b	1_a	91_d
Reputation	544_c	252_c	137_b	984_e
Suspension	19_b	1_a	37_c	186_c
Testing policy	24_b	8_b	24_d	323_f

Note. Numbers with a different subscript appearing in the same column are significantly different at p ≤ .002.

With respect to coverage of the benefits pertaining to steroid use, significant differences were found for Bonds, Q(2, N = 1247) = 248.59, p < .001. The majority of coverage focused on his gaining a competitive edge (n = 131) with less attention to his alleged steroid use for rehabilitation purposes (n = 5) and cosmetic purposes (n = 0). Similarly, for McGwire, the majority of coverage mentioned his using steroids to gain a competitive edge (n = 43) and less frequently for rehabilitation purposes (n = 10) and cosmetic purposes (n = 0), Q(2, N = 1247) = 69.05, p < .001. For Palmeiro, competitive edge (n = 7) was cited most frequently followed by rehabilitation purposes (n = 1) and cosmetic purposes (n = 0), Q(2, N = 1247) = 10.75, p = .01. See Table 3 for McNemar test results pertaining to the benefits of using steroids for Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro.

Table 3.

Benefits of Using Steroids.

	Bonds	McGwire	Palmeiro	Overall
Cosmetic	0_a	0_a	0_a	23_a
Competitive edge	131_b	43_b	7_b	430_b
Rehabilitation	5_a	10_c	1_a	40_c

Note. Numbers with a different subscript appearing in the same column are significantly different at p ≤ .0167.

The majority of coverage pertaining to the benefits of using steroids emphasized gaining a competitive edge with Bonds receiving the most coverage followed by McGwire and Palmeiro, Q(2, N = 1247) = 139.52, p = .001. Each of these differences was significant at p < .001. In support of H1, H2, and H3, significant differences also emerged for using steroids for rehabilitation purposes for Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro, Q(2, N = 1247) = 7.63, p = .02. Specifically, McGwire received greater coverage in support of his alleged steroid use for rehabilitation purposes compared with Bonds and Palmeiro.

Discussion

The overarching goal of Study 1 was to determine how television news journalism categorized alleged steroid use among MLB players and Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro, more specifically. In support of SCT (Turner et al., 1987), the results revealed that Bonds received considerable more negative attention for his alleged steroid use than McGwire or Palmeiro; thus providing empirical support for H1 and H2 and consistent with extant research on racial depictions of athletes of color (Billings, 2003; Halone & Billings, 2010). Moreover, McGwire received more attention for his alleged steroid use for rehabilitation purposes than Bonds or Palmeiro. Consistent with H3, McGwire received more negative coverage than Palmeiro. The results revealed that media attention to steroid use among MLB players emphasized how steroids can negatively affect a baseball player’s reputation, which mirrors earlier work by Quick (2010). Below, each of these findings is discussed in greater detail.

A central finding from the current study is support for SCT within the context of race and MLB. Recall that research shows that racial prototypes persist in sports among sportscasters with Black athletes often categorized as having superior physical attributes and background stories of overcoming poverty and challenging upbringings, whereas White athletes leadership skills and intelligence are emphasized (Billings, 2004; Halone & Billings, 2010). With these categories in mind, we anticipated that journalists would be less sympathetic to Bonds for his alleged steroid use considering his notable athleticism and affluent upbringing. Support for these hypotheses was found. With respect to reputation damage alone, Bonds received more than twice the media coverage of McGwire and 4 times more coverage than Palmeiro. Similarly, considerably more attention was given to Bonds’ alleged steroid use to gain a competitive edge compared with McGwire or Palmeiro. Together, coupled with Bonds’ tenuous relationship with the media (see Whitlock, 2006), Study 1 findings were not at all surprising. Future research should examine why Bonds was not shown the same sympathy from reporters that McGwire and Palmeiro received using open-ended interviews.

As expected, McGwire received considerably more coverage in general than Palmeiro. The relative absence of coverage pertaining to Palmeiro’s alleged steroid use in general adds backing to the argument that Latino’s are grossly underrepresented in the media and when they are depicted, they are shown in limited or marginalized roles compared with Blacks and Whites (Butterworth, 2008; Mastro & Behm-Morawitz, 2005; Mastro et al., 2008). With respect to how the news media framed McGwire’s alleged steroid use, it should be noted that greater attention was given to his alleged use for rehabilitation purposes. This finding is consistent with earlier reports of fans and sports journalists vilifying the journalist discovering androstenedione in McGwire’s locker (Shaw, 2006). Certainly, the same sympathy was not shown to Bonds or Palmeiro for their alleged steroid use. Additional work should examine if these patterns of news coverage among racially diverse players emerge in other sports where steroid use is prevalent.

A second critical finding from this investigation is that the majority of news stories during the past 12 years emphasized the barriers, as opposed to the benefits (although both were mentioned frequently), of using steroids. Unfortunately, and consistent with an earlier study examining steroid use in sports (Quick, 2010), reputation damage was cited most often with considerably less attention given to the health costs linked to steroid use. Despite a growing understanding of the health consequences (e.g., aggression, organ failure) associated with steroid use (for a review, see Achar, Rostamian, & Narayan, 2010; Pärssinen & Seppälä, 2002), more than 33% of the stories referenced the competitive edge gained by using steroids, whereas less than 20% of the stories acknowledged the health costs and approximately 10% of the stories provided narratives to increase perceptions of vulnerability to experiencing these costs. Unfortunately, when the highlighted barrier is player reputation damage, which was cited in nearly 80% of the stories, the implicit message is that steroid use is okay as long as you do not get caught. Despite an emphasis on reputation damage within the news stories, inattention to the health costs of using steroids continues to send the wrong message to children and adolescents aspiring to be like these elite athletes, which have tremendous influence on their fans (e.g., Basil, 1996; Brown & Basil, 1995; Brown et al., 2003; Brown & de Matviuk, 2010). With an understanding of how the media communicates about steroid use in MLB and Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro, in particular, the question emerging from these findings is to what extent these categorizations have had an effect on baseball fans’ support toward each player’s pending induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. This question is answered in Study 2.

Study 2

Study 1 investigated television news coverage of alleged steroid use in baseball with a specific focus on Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro. Study 2 seeks to extend this work by examining the degree to which sports journalists’ categorizations (Turner et al., 1987) of these players affect fans support for each player’s pending Hall of Fame inductions. In doing so, we turn to the entertainment education (Moyer-Gusé, 2008; Moyer-Gusé & Nabi, 2010) literature as cultivation theory (Gerbner & Gross, 1976) and TRA (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) research. Recent research on entertainment education reveals that viewers’ affection for celebrities is in part determined by celebrity likability and the degree to which viewers perceive themselves as similar to the celebrity (Green & Clark, 2012; Moyer-Gusé, 2008). In determining fans’ attitudes toward supporting each player’s pending Hall of Fame inductions, player likability and perceived similarity are considered.

Likability refers to the respect and positive evaluation by another and plays an important role in one’s social attractiveness (Rubin, 1973). More recently, Cohen (2001) defined liking as positively evaluating another. One study found that celebrity endorsers are perceived as being more likable and attractive when they endorse products related to their expertise (Buhr, Simpson, & Pryor, 1987). In turn, celebrity likability is positively associated with purchase intentions of advertised products (e.g., milk, cola, and sunglasses). Similarly, Green and Clark (2012) recently argued that liking leads individuals to adopt beliefs and behaviors of the liked individual. Given the persuasiveness of likability, it is anticipated that player likability will be positively associated with a favorable attitude and intention to support a player’s pending Hall of Fame induction.

Like likability, perceived similarity plays a pivotal role in a person’s social attractiveness. Perceived similarity refers to the resemblance between two individuals or the degree to which individuals are similar (Moyer-Gusé, 2008). Similarity can be perceptions of similarity in race, gender, attractiveness, and age. For example, Kalichman, Russell, Hunter, and Sarwer (1993) found that Magic Johnson’s HIV disclosure had the strongest impact on other Black males. Consistent with their study, Brown et al. (2003) discovered that baseball fans identifying and maintaining parasocial relationships with McGwire were more knowledgeable about androstenedione and reported stronger intentions to use the supplement. Similar findings were observed among soccer fans identifying with Argentinean soccer star Diego Maradona and his strong stance against drug abuse. Specifically, Brown and de Matviuk (2010) found that celebrity influence was greatest among individuals perceiving greater similarity with a celebrity. In short, perceived similarity with a celebrity can lead to behaving in ways consistent with the famous individual. Given the influence of player likability and similarity, the following hypotheses are put forward:

Hypothesis 1 (H1): Player likability and perceived similarity will be positively associated with favorable attitudes toward Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Hypothesis 2 (H2): Player likability and perceived similarity will be indirectly positively associated with supporting Bonds’, McGwire’s, and Palmeiro’s pending induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Study 1 found greater exposure was given to the negative consequences of Bonds’ alleged steroid use compared with McGwire and Palmeiro. Fishbein and Ajzen (2010) recently wrote that human behavior is influenced by beliefs derived from personal experience, media exposure, and interactions with friends and family. Considering that fans’ likability of each player and the degree to which they perceive themselves as similar to each player is largely determined through media portrayals (Moyer-Gusé, 2008), in accordance with Study 1 findings, it is hypothesized that fan likability of and perceived similarity to Bonds will be lower compared with McGwire and Palmeiro. Therefore, the following hypothesis was proposed:

Hypothesis 3 (H3): Fans’ likability and perceived similarity will be lower for Bonds than McGwire and Palmeiro.

In addition, considering that greater coverage was given to McGwire’s alleged steroid use to gain a competitive edge than Palmeiro, one could reasonably anticipate McGwire will be perceived as less likable and similar to fans than Palmeiro. However, McGwire also received more sympathy for his alleged steroid use given that fans and sports journalists acknowledged his prescribed use for rehabilitation purposes (Shaw, 2006). Despite considerably more coverage devoted to McGwire’s alleged use than Palmeiro’s, the valence of this coverage was mixed. Thus, we posit the following research question:

Research Question 1 (RQ1): Will fans differ in their liking of and perceived similarity to McGwire compared with Palmeiro?

The TRA proposes that behavioral intention is dependent on a person’s attitude and subjective norm toward the behavior (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). Accordingly, an attitude is conceptualized as an evaluation of performing a behavior in the future in terms of how favorable performing the behavior would be for an individual (Fishbein & Ajzen, 2010). Subjective norms are conceptualized as the extent to which individuals believe important others think they should engage in a particular behavior (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). Meta-analyses frequently demonstrate the predictability of intentions by measuring attitudes and subjective norms (see Albarracín, Johnson, Fishbein, & Muellerleile, 2001; Armitage & Conner, 2001; Rivis & Sheeran, 2003) and for this reason, it is hypothesized that both attitudes and subjective norms will predict intentions. As noted above, baseball fans are unlikely to form beliefs about players through direct interaction, but rather through media coverage and through interactions with friends, family, and other fans. Consistent with the TRA, the following hypothesis was proposed:

Hypothesis 4 (H4): Attitudes and subjective norms in favor of Bonds’, McGwire’s, and Palmeiro’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame will be positively associated with intentions to support each player’s pending induction.

Study 1 revealed that media categorizations of Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro emphasized the negative consequences of their alleged steroid use. In particular, Bonds received considerably greater scrutiny for his alleged use than McGwire or Palmeiro. In addition, McGwire received greater coverage in general for his alleged use than Palmeiro. Given the amount of negative publicity surrounding Bonds’ alleged steroid use, we hypothesize those attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions supporting his pending Baseball Hall of Fame induction will be less favorable than McGwire or Palmeiro:

Hypothesis 5 (H5): Attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions to support Bonds’ induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame will be less favorable among fans compared with McGwire and Palmeiro.

However, given the mixed coverage pertaining to McGwire’s alleged use and the infrequent attention to Palmeiro’s alleged use, the following research question is put forward:

Research Question 2 (RQ2): Will fans differ in their attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions to support McGwire’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame compared with Palmeiro?

The final hypothesis tests for increases in exposure to news coverage of steroid use in MLB. In doing so, we turn to Gerbner and colleagues’ cultivation theory, which suggests that over an extended period of time, social reality and television reality become blurred among heavy, compared with light, television viewers (Gerbner & Gross, 1976; Morgan, Shanahan, & Signorielli, 2009). Recent reviews demonstrate that heavy viewers are more likely to maintain perceptions that mirror television compared with light viewers (see Morgan & Shanahan, 1996, 2010). As shown in Study 1 and in previous SCT research, African American athletes are often portrayed more negatively than Caucasian athletes (Halone & Billings, 2010). Therefore, because over an extended period of time Bonds received considerably more negative coverage due to his alleged steroid use than McGwire or Palmeiro, it is likely that heavy viewers will be more critical of Bonds than light viewers. In accordance with cultivation theory (Gerbner & Gross, 1976), we expect that the hypothesized associations will be stronger for heavy television viewers compared with light viewers:

Hypothesis 6 (H6): Heavy television viewers will maintain stronger associations across the measured variables compared with light viewers.

In addition to testing for association differences among heavy and light viewers, the final research question examines if mean differences in player likability, perceived similarity, attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions to support Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro’s pending induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame emerge between heavy and light viewers.

Research Question 3 (RQ3): Will heavy and light viewers differ in magnitude in their likability, perceived similarity, attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions to support Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro?

Method

Participants and procedures

Adults (N = 407) from 42 states participated in an online survey examining alleged steroid use in MLB. Eighty-two cases were dropped due to extensive missing data, which brought the sample to 325. The majority of participants were male (n = 306) with an average age of 42.48 (SD = 14.14). Most classified themselves as White/Caucasian (n = 294), followed by Hispanic/Latino (n = 9), Black/African American (n = 4), and Native Americans (n = 3). The majority of participants played baseball at some point during their life (n = 323) with several playing baseball in high school (n = 173), college (n = 48), and professionally (n = 21). All but 4 participants indicated that they had never used steroids (n = 321).

ESPN MLB team forums and the Google Groups baseball forum were the two most popular websites hosting baseball forums at the time of data collection. A forum was considered active if a fan had posted a message to a conversation thread within the past 24 hours. Both websites hosted a forum with a message board for each professional baseball team. To recruit a wide range of baseball fans, the survey link was posted to all MLB team message boards and forums along with a request for participation in an online survey regarding professional baseball and steroids. Once the link was clicked, fans read our request for participation, which asked fans to give their opinion about whether Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro should be allowed into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The university sponsoring the research was also identified in the request. The survey request was reposted approximately 30 days later.

To test H6, a median split was performed for weekly hours of television baseball viewing (M = 15.56, SD = 10.83) with heavy viewers watching an average of 24.13 hours (SD = 8.55) of television baseball viewing each week compared with light viewers who watched an average of 6.87 hours (SD = 3.47). Below, the alpha reliabilities for each of the measured variables are presented.

Measures

Player likability

Player likability was assessed using Reysen’s (2005) four-item measure using a 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree scale (e.g., [insert player name] is friendly). The player likability measure was reliable among heavy (Bonds [α = .94], McGwire [α = .96], and Palmeiro [α = .97]) and light viewers (Bonds [α = .94], McGwire [α = .95], and Palmeiro [α = .97]).

Player similarity

Similarity was measured using Moyer-Gusé and Nabi’s (2010) three-item measure with a 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree scale. The measure (e.g., [insert player name] acts like me) formed a reliable instrument among heavy (Bonds [α = .90], McGwire [α = .96], and Palmeiro [α = .94]) and light viewers (Bonds [α = .94], McGwire [α = .95], and Palmeiro [α = .96]).

Attitudes

Fans’ attitudes were measured using a semantic differential scale used by Park and Smith (2007) with the following anchor: “(Insert player name) getting inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the future is . . . for baseball.” Three pairs of bipolar adjectives (e.g., good/bad) served as endpoints for this item. The instrument achieved a respectable reliability for both heavy (Bonds [α = .97], McGwire [α = .97], and Palmeiro [α = .97]) and light viewers (Bonds [α = .98], McGwire [α = .97], and Palmeiro [α = .97]).

Subjective norms

Items adapted from Park and Smith’s (2007) study were used to assess fans’ subjective norms (e.g., Most people important to me think [insert player name] should be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the future). The internal consistency among items was acceptable among heavy (Bonds [α = .94], McGwire [α = .95], and Palmeiro [α = .93]) and light viewers (Bonds [α = .96], McGwire [α = .97], and Palmeiro [α = .97]).

Behavioral intentions

Intentions were measured using a single item, “I would support (insert player name) induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the future.”

Data analysis

To test the hypothesized model (H1, H2, H4, and H6), structural equation modeling using EQS 6.2 was used. In doing so, six models were run in total with three models representing heavy and three light viewers. Mardia’s coefficients for multivariate kurtosis revealed that the data were non-normal for heavy viewers (Bonds = 70.05, McGwire = 31.04, and Palmeiro = 56.45) and light viewers (Bonds = 68.04, McGwire = 56.37, and Palmeiro = 56.37). Given that the data were not normally distributed, the maximum likelihood estimators with robust standard errors were used. Specifically, the omnibus model fit was evaluated using the Satorra–Bentler chi-square-distributed goodness of fit test (S-Bχ²), comparative fit index (CFI), and the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA). Player likability, similarity, attitudes, and subjective norms were modeled as latent variables. An intention to support each player’s pending Hall of Fame induction was measured with a single item.

Following conventional procedures, the two-step approach was utilized by assessing the measurement model first followed by the structural model. For heavy and light viewers, the measurement models for Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro indicated that the measured variables provided an adequate assessment (see Table 4). The unstandardized path coefficients for each model are presented in Figures 1 to 3. To test H6, we examined differences among heavy and light viewers across the hypothesized path coefficients with respect to Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro. To test for the moderating role of weekly baseball viewing, unstandardized path coefficients and their respective standard errors were used to ascertain if statistical differences emerged among heavy and light viewers by calculating a z statistic, which was computed by taking the difference of the two unstandardized path coefficients and dividing them by the square root of the sum of squared standard errors (see Cohen & Cohen, 1983). See Tables 5 to 7 for the correlation matrixes among heavy and light viewers with respect to these three players. H3, H5, and all three research questions were tested using multivariate ANOVA.

Table 4.

Measurement and Structural Model Fit Indices Among Heavy and Light Viewers.

	Heavy viewers				Light viewers
	S-Bχ²	df	CFI	RMSEA (CI)	S-Bχ²	df	CFI	RMSEA (CI)
Bonds MM	84.11	56	.94	.056 [0.029, 0.080]	55.89	56	1.0	.000 [0.000, 0.049]
Bonds SM	88.76	58	.93	.058 [0.032, 0.081]	58.57	58	1.0	.008 [0.000, 0.050]
McGwire MM	91.55	56	.89	.063 [0.038, 0.086]	70.98	56	.96	.041 [0.000, 0.068]
McGwire SM	94.85	58	.89	.063 [0.039, 0.085]	76.85	58	.94	.046 [0.003, 0.071]
Palmeiro MM	64.46	56	.96	.031 [0.000, 0.060]	66.15	56	.95	.034 [0.000, 0.063]
Palmeiro SM	67.29	58	.96	.032 [0.000, 0.060]	68.44	58	.95	.034 [0.000, 0.062]

Note. S-Bχ² = Satorra–Bentler chi-square-distributed goodness of fit test; CFI = comparative fit index; RMSEA = root mean square error of approximation; CI = confidence interval; MM = measurement model; SM = structural model.

Figure 1.

Structural model for Bonds among heavy and light viewers.

Figure 2.

Structural model for McGwire among heavy and light viewers.

Figure 3.

Structural model for Palmeiro among heavy and light viewers.

Table 5.

Correlation Matrix Among Heavy and Light Viewers for Bonds.

	1	2	3	4	5
1. Perceived similarity	1.0	.64***	.36***	.38***	.37***
2. Player likability	.46***	1.0	.43***	.46***	.42***
3. Attitude	.43***	.44***	1.0	.83***	.91***
4. Subjective norm	.38***	.29***	.84***	1.0	.81***
5. Intention	.44***	.42***	.95***	.82***	1.0

Note. Heavy viewers appear below the diagonal, and light viewers are above the diagonal.

***

p < .0001.

Table 6.

Correlation Matrix Among Heavy and Light Viewers for McGwire.

	1	2	3	4	5
1. Perceived similarity	1.0	.43***	.36***	.44***	.39***
2. Player likability	.44***	1.0	.34***	.38***	.38***
3. Attitude	.48***	.46***	1.0	.83***	.90***
4. Subjective norm	.46***	.36***	.81***	1.0	.78***
5. Intention	.53***	.50***	.92***	.79***	1.0

Note. Heavy viewers appear below the diagonal, and light viewers are above the diagonal.

Table 7.

Correlation Matrix Among Heavy and Light Viewers for Palmeiro.

	1	2	3	4	5
1. Perceived similarity	1.0	.35***	.34***	.33***	.39***
2. Player likability	.44***	1.0	.37***	.34***	.38***
3. Attitude	.46***	.42***	1.0	.81***	.84***
4. Subjective norm	.47***	.39***	.83***	1.0	.69***
5. Intention	.47***	.44***	.90***	.80***	1.0

Note. Heavy viewers appear below the diagonal, and light viewers are above the diagonal.

Results

Support for Bonds’ pending Hall of Fame induction

As hypothesized, among heavy (HV) and light (LV) viewers, both Bonds’ likability (H1) and perceived similarity (H1) were positively associated with favorable attitudes toward his pending Hall of Fame induction (see Figure 1). In turn, attitudes, but not subjective norms, were positively associated with intentions to support his induction (H4). To test for indirect effects within the model, PRODCLIN was used to garner the asymmetric 95% confidence intervals (CIs; MacKinnon, Fritz, Williams, & Lockwood, 2007). Among both heavy and light viewers, in support of H2, the asymmetric 95% CIs revealed that perceived similarity (HV, 95% CI = [0.568, 1.623]) and player likability (HV, 95% CI = [0.144, 0.852]; LV, 95% CI = [0.26, 1.098]) exhibited indirect effects on intentions by way of attitudes to support Bonds’ pending induction. In addition, attitudes mediated the subjective norms and intentions relationship (HV, 95% CI = [0.611, 0.942]; LV, 95% CI = [0.513, 0.909]). The model accounted for variance in attitudes (R² = .27 [HV], R² = .21 [LV]) and intentions (R² = .94 [HV], R² = .87 [LV]), respectively. With respect to H6, the path coefficient connecting player likability and favorable attitudes toward supporting Bonds’ pending induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame was significant stronger (z = 2.21, p < .05) for heavy television viewers than light viewers.

Support for McGwire’s pending Hall of Fame induction

As hypothesized, among heavy and light viewers, both McGwire’s likability (H1) and perceived similarity (H1) were positively associated with favorable attitudes (see Figure 2). Interestingly, McGwire’s likability was positively associated with intentions to support his pending Hall of Fame induction. Attitudes, but not subjective norms, were positively associated with intentions (H4). Like Bonds, in support of H2, indirect effects were found for perceived similarity (HV, 95% CI = [0.26, 0.748]; LV, 95% CI = [0.122, 0.778]) and likability (HV, 95% CI = [0.168, 0.55]; LV, 95% CI = [0.12, 0.649]) through attitudes in supporting McGwire’s induction. Also, attitudes mediated the subjective norms and intention relationship (HV, 95% CI = [0.527, 0.858]; LV, 95% CI = [0.597, 0.971]). The model accounted for variance in attitudes (R² = .32 [HV], R² = .19 [LV]) and intentions (R² = .90 [HV], R² = .89 [LV]), respectively. No differences emerged between heavy and light viewers (H6).

Support for Palmeiro’s pending Hall of Fame induction

As hypothesized, among heavy and light viewers, both Palmeiro’s likability (H1) and perceived similarity (H1) were positively associated with favorable attitudes (see Figure 3). Attitudes, but not subjective norms, were positively associated with intentions to support his pending Hall of Fame induction (H4). In support of H2, perceived similarity (HV, 95% CI = [0.232, 1.118]; LV, 95% CI = [0.063, 0.755]) and likability (HV, 95% CI = [0.123, 0.574]; LV, 95% CI = [0.133, 0.606]) indirectly affected intentions to support Palmeiro’s pending Baseball Hall of Fame induction by way of attitudes. In addition, attitudes mediated the subjective norm and intention relationship (HV, 95% CI = [0.357, 1.018]; LV, 95% CI = [0.356, 0.82]). The model accounted for variance in attitudes (R² = .31 [HV], R² = .19 [LV]) and intentions (R² = .86 [HV], R² = .75 [LV]). No differences emerged between heavy viewers and light viewers (H6).

Mean differences among Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro

H3 predicted that Bonds would receive lower marks across the measured variables compared with McGwire and Palmeiro. With respect to player likability, Bonds (M = 1.93, SD = 1.35) was perceived as less likable than McGwire (M = 4.16, SD = 1.80) and Palmeiro (M = 3.60, SD = 1.71), Wilks’s λ = .42, F(2, 319) = 222.14, p < .001, η² = .58. For perceived similarity, fans perceived themselves as less similar to Bonds (M = 1.44, SD = 0.99) compared with McGwire (M = 1.98, SD = 1.49) and Palmeiro (M = 1.71, SD = 1.26), Wilks’s λ = .85, F(2, 327) = 29.29, p < .001, η² = .15. H3 was supported.

With respect to attitudes, contrary to our expectations for H5, fans had more favorable attitudes toward Bonds’ (M = 3.10, SD = 2.42) Baseball Hall of Fame induction than McGwire (M = 2.75, SD = 2.15) or Palmeiro (M = 2.55, SD = 2.05), Wilks’s λ = .90, F(2, 405) = 22.48, p < .001, η² = .10. Fans also reported more favorable subjective norms for Bonds (M = 3.05, SD = 2.27) compared with McGwire (M = 2.64, SD = 1.92) and Palmeiro (M = 2.36, SD = 1.78), Wilks’s λ = .87, F(2, 375) = 28.75, p < .001, η² = .13. In addition, stronger intentions to support Bonds’ (M = 3.19, SD = 2.69) pending induction than McGwire (M = 2.92, SD = 2.45) or Palmeiro (M = 2.61, SD = 2.26) emerged, Wilks’s λ = .93, F(2, 329) = 28.75, p < .001, η² = .07.

With respect to RQ1 and RQ2, statistical differences emerged between McGwire and Palmeiro across the measured variables with McGwire being seen as more likable and similar than Palmeiro. Similarly, fans’ attitudes, subjective norm, and intentions to support McGwire’s pending Baseball Hall of Fame induction were stronger than their support for Palmeiro. With respect to each player, no differences emerged among heavy and light viewers for player likability, perceived similarity, attitudes, subjective norms, or intentions to support each player’s pending Hall of Fame induction (RQ3).

Discussion

Study 2 examined fans support of Bonds’, McGwire’s, and Palmeiro’s pending Baseball Hall of Fame inductions. Study 1 revealed that journalists’ coverage of these players was similar to how sportscasters have categorized athletes from distinct racial backgrounds in previous work with Bonds receiving more negative coverage than McGwire and Palmeiro receiving less attention (Billings, 2004; Edwards, 1971; Halone & Billings, 2010). Study 2 relied on measures derived from the TRA (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) to provide antecedents of fan support for the aforementioned players. The findings showed partial support for the TRA, with attitudes, but not subjective norms, predicting intentions to support each player’s pending Hall of Fame induction. However, subjective norms were indirectly associated with intentions via attitudes. Consistent with previous research, attitudes accounted for more variance in intentions than subjective norms (see Albarracín et al., 2001; Armitage & Conner, 2001; Rivis & Sheeran, 2003). Specifically, consistent with our expectations and earlier research (Basil, 1996; Basil & Brown, 1997; Brown & de Matviuk, 2010), player likability and similarity were positively associated with attitudes in support of each player’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In addition, consistent with the earlier work by Friedman, Santeramo, and Traina (1978), player likability and similarity were positively associated for each player.

In addition to the aforementioned direct effects, player likability and perceived similarity were indirectly associated with intentions as this relationship was mediated through attitudes for Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro. For McGwire and Palmeiro, player likability and perceived similarity each accounted for similar variance in intentions. For Bonds, however, player likability accounted for nearly twice the variance in support compared with similarity. Findings from the current investigation extend the SCT and TRA literature by applying this framework to alleged steroid use in MLB. Moreover, Study 2 successfully identified two source attributes—likability and perceived similarity—associated with attitudes. The hypothesized model was robust as only the association between Bonds’ likability and attitudes were stronger among heavy than light viewers. We believe this difference can be explained by how the media covered Bonds’ alleged steroid use compared with McGwire and Palmeiro. Recall from Study 1 that Bonds received more frequent and negative coverage compared with McGwire and Palmeiro.

In all, these four variables accounted for a considerable amount of variance in fans’ intentions to support these future Baseball Hall of Fame inductions. Along with examining the relationships between attitudes, subjective norms, player likability, and perceived similarity with fans’ intentions to support Bonds’, McGwire’s, and Palmeiro’s pending Baseball Hall of Fame inductions, we examined mean differences across the measured variables. With respect to player likability and perceived similarity, McGwire was certainly the fan favorite followed by Palmeiro and Bonds. Recall from Study 1 that greater attention was given to McGwire’s alleged steroid use for rehabilitation purposes than Bonds or Palmeiro. Taken together, it appears that news framing of McGwire’s alleged steroid use may have inspired a stronger relationship between likability and intentions compared with Bonds and Palmeiro. It is possible that fans were more sympathetic to McGwire as a result. Future research should tease this out using more inductive data collection strategies. Moreover, fans perceived themselves as most similar to McGwire. However, it should also be pointed out that the majority of participants in Study 2 were White, a limitation. It could be that birds of a feather do flock together within this context. Posting a survey to ESPN MLB team and Google Groups baseball forums has its strengths in recruiting a geographically diverse sample; however, this strategy was unsuccessful at securing a racially diverse sample. Future research should recruit a more racially diverse sample to allow for comparisons between Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro among a diverse sample to see if in-group and out-group effects are observed.

Finally, we would be remiss if we did not acknowledge the relationship between each player and the media as we interpret these findings. As noted earlier, Bonds historically had a rocky relationship with the media, which only worsened as the allegations began (Shaw, 2006; Whitlock, 2006) and were evident by how journalists’ covered his alleged steroid use. McGwire’s relationship was much more amicable, as evidenced by how the media came to his defense after the androstenedione was discovered in his locker. Palmeiro’s relationship with the media is less clear as very little has been written about him within the media as observed in Study 1. Despite these differences pertaining to player likability and perceived similarity, with respect to attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions, fans were much more favorable of Bonds being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame than McGwire and Palmeiro. MLB fans overlooked the low likability and similarity marks against Bonds when weighing in on whether or not the slugger should be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the future. With these differences in mind, no differences emerged across these five variables among heavy and light viewers, thus offering limited support for cultivation theory. It could be that baseball fans receive their news through various news outlets (e.g., print, radio) as well as through conversations with others. Certainly, the baseball steroid scandal has received tremendous attention across various mediums and sources for more than a decade. This null finding suggests that television coverage of alleged steroid use in MLB may not explain racism but may simply reflect or perpetuate existing beliefs regardless of exposure amounts. Additional research is necessary to shed additional light into the role of the media at shaping fan perceptions within this context.

General Discussion

The presence of alleged steroid use in MLB is nothing new to baseball fans as attention to this growing problem has been in the headlines for more than a decade. Despite years of attention to this issue, limited research has investigated news coverage of this issue within the context of SCT (Turner et al., 1987) and to our knowledge no research examines fans’ perceptions of how players’ alleged steroid use should affect future inductions into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Recall that Turner and colleagues’ theory explicates the manner in which we think about group membership in relation to in-group and out-group members. Prior researchers have used SCT successfully in predicting differential descriptions of players’ race by sports commentators in national broadcasts (Billings, 2003, 2004; Eastman & Billings, 2001; Halone & Billings, 2010; Rada & Wulfemeyer, 2005). To date, however, no study has examined sports journalists’ descriptions of MLB players from diverse racial backgrounds. Moreover, no study to date had examined journalists’ coverage of Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro’s alleged steroid use.

The results of Study 1 indicate that there are significant differences in the way the media categorize alleged steroid use among three extraordinarily talented MLB players from distinct racial backgrounds. Consistent with previous SCT research, the results demonstrate that news coverage differentially frames Blacks in more negative ways than Whites (Dixon & Linz, 2000a, 2000b; Josey et al., 2010). That is, prior investigations have found significant differences in the ways in which Black athletes are categorized in the media compared to their White counterparts (Billings, 2004; Rada & Wulfemeyer, 2005). Of the research examining how individuals of color are portrayed in the news, studies reveal that journalists rely heavily on stereotypic schema, which are linked with racial groups. Specifically, prior analyses reveal that Black athletes are categorized in ways highlighting their innate athletic ability, whereas White athletes are categorized by emphasizing their leadership, motivation, and intelligence (Billings, 2004; Rada, 1996). This is likely a result of categorizations made by the media when describing a certain group by relying on stereotypes associated with that group (see Eastman & Billings, 2001). In stark contrast to Black and White athletes, which receive considerable news coverage, albeit different stereotypes, findings from the current study support earlier work (e.g., Mastro & Behm-Morawitz, 2005; Mastro et al., 2008) showing that Latinos are increasingly marginalized due to infrequent media coverage.

Racial descriptors in television coverage of sports would predict that White players would receive the most sympathetic coverage once their alleged steroid usage was brought to light (e.g., rehabilitation purposes versus performance enhancement) as they are more likely to need a leg up on their competition (Billings, 2004). Study 1 found evidence of sports writers being more sympathetic to McGwire and more critical of Bonds. Sticking with this line of reasoning and consistent with earlier work, Bonds would be viewed most negatively by the media because of his “natural ability” (Billings, 2004; Rada & Wulfemeyer, 2005). That is, Bonds should have no reason to use steroids given his athleticism and as such, his usage would be vilified the most. The current study supports this line of theorizing.

It should be noted that each of these athletes received frequent negative attention for their alleged steroid use in a time when these substances were not prohibited by MLB. In fact, as long as medical doctors prescribed the substance(s) and the player’s team was notified of use, use was not prohibited. Nevertheless, results from this study reveal a tendency for the news media to be overly critical of certain players accused of using steroids. Whether this news coverage is due to an underlying racism in sports is deserving of greater attention. Despite the imbalance of negative coverage received by Bonds for his alleged use, MLB fans recognized his remarkable accomplishments on the field and were more supportive of his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame than McGwire and Palmeiro.

The current two-study investigation moves the literature forward by examining how the news media categorized alleged steroid use among Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro as well as MLB fans’ reactions to these players’ pending Hall of Fame inductions. Consistent with SCT (Turner et al., 1987), Study 1 revealed that Bonds received significantly more negative coverage for his alleged steroid use than McGwire or Palmeiro. Moreover, Study 1 revealed that McGwire’s alleged steroid use was attributed to rehabilitation more than Bonds or Palmeiro. These findings are consistent with earlier SCT research that demonstrates an unfavorable treatment of Blacks in both sports (Billings, 2003; Halone & Billings, 2010) and news (Dixon & Linz, 2000a, 2000b; Josey et al., 2010) coverage. In addition, the modest attention to Palmeiro’s alleged steroid use supports earlier work documenting limited Latino exposure on television (Mastro & Behm-Morawitz, 2005). Study 2 extends the entertainment education literature through the positive associations linking player likability and similarity with attitudes. Consistent with the TRA, attitudes directly predicted intentions to support pending Hall of Fame inductions whereas subjective norms were indirectly associated with intentions for all three players.

Theoretical and practical implications abound from this investigation. Theoretically speaking, the current investigation demonstrates the utility of triangulating theories in order to more fully understand a phenomenon. Together, this investigation highlights the potential to intersect the health, media effects, sports, and the race literature in theoretically and practically significant ways. These findings reveal a problematic tendency by the news media to categorize these three athletes in disturbing ways. Coverage of Bonds’ alleged steroid use was significantly more negative than journalists’ coverage of McGwire’s and Palmeiro’s alleged use. Research should continue to examine news coverage of athletes of various racial backgrounds across various contexts, both positive and negative, to see if these initial findings are replicated. Whether or not the treatment of these three players is generalizable to other athletes in different circumstances deserves further attention. To date, research analyzing sportscasters’ coverage of athletes from distinct racial backgrounds is widespread (e.g., Halone & Billings, 2010; Rada & Wulfemeyer, 2005), whereas surprisingly fewer studies examine journalists’ coverage of athletes. Future research should continue to investigate media framing of steroids in sports under the guidance of SCT to further understand how these racial categorizations create, change, and reinforce fans’ beliefs. It is the authors’ hope that this investigation will serve as a catalyst for increased attention to communication issues in sports to more fully understand the role communication plays within this important US$90 billion (Ozanian, 2014) industry.

Footnotes

Appendix

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge and thank Travis Dixon and Grant Miller for their valuable feedback on earlier versions of this manuscript.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author Biographies

Brian L. Quick (PhD, Texas A & M University, 2005) is an associate professor in the Department of Communication and in the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His primary research interests examine how individuals process persuasive messages in a variety of health contexts.

Natalie J. White Lambert (MA, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2012) is a doctoral student in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests include the development of organizational networks and institutional logics both on and offline, as well as the utilization of computational research methods in social science research.

Christopher S. Josey (MA, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007) is a doctoral student in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His primary areas of interest involve the portrayal of race in the media, racialized communication and the effects both have on the individual.

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