There are several elements of scientific research. The elements are as follows: public, objective, empirical, systematic, cumulative, predictive, and self-correcting. Together these elements create the guidelines of scientific research.
Therefore, using these elements, the question “Should mortification be used in athlete transgressions?” can be answered through previous studies.
William L. Benoit defined mortification as “to confess and beg forgiveness.” (Benoit, 1997, p. 181) It is a common image repair strategy used by many athletes. Famous athletes that have used some …show more content…
In a study done by Hambrick, Frederick, and Sanderson, they state: “Previous research suggests that when athletes admit responsibility from the outset, fans are generally supportive and willing to extender forgiveness (Sanderson, 2008; Sanderson & Emmons, in press)….used Twitter to present himself as an accountable person who was read to the bear the burden of his wrongdoing…beyond what was presented on the telecast with Oprah Winfrey.” (Armstrong case)
In Armstrong’s case, mortification would have been the best route and would have created a sense of empathy among his fans. Michael Vick is another athlete who used mortification as an image repair tactic. He went through several other image repair tactics before using mortification. However, mortification was the best received by the public.
In conclusion, based on the studies given, mortification is one of the most successful tactics in image repair. Mortification alone will not fix an image though. It will need to be followed up with corrective action or some other action showing that the athlete is truly sorry for his