ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the use of power in terms of teaching athletes to obey authority, limit their agency, and submit to the will of the dominant. The chapter addresses the response to the abuse inflicted upon Kallella – this "if you don't like it leave it" mentality – and the utter lack of action that Kallella and her teammates took against an abusive coach. The Zimbardo, Asch, and Milgram studies help people understand how one individual can get athletes to comply with their demands, and remain obedient to their authority. Deutsch and Gerard propose social impact theory as a way to suggest that athletes obey coaches, because when faced with an ambiguous situation, they refer to others for social comparison. The coach maintains a great deal of power in socializing individuals into a particular belief system and, to a lesser extent, the coach also maintains the ability to alter certain sport structures.
