Athletes Behaving Badly

The Ambiguity of Smuggling: A Prized Reward and Punishable Offense

The act of smuggling constituted an ambiguous space within the sphere of Hungarian elite sport. Sport leaders allowed - and even turned a blind eye to - athletes bringing in prized goods to Hungary after their travels abroad. They understood that athletes' ability to obtain hard-to-find items served as one of the prime motivators for athletes to continue working hard and winning gold medals. The goods that athletes brought in ranged from mundane (but still rare) things like nylon stockings and cloth material like lace and wool in the 1950s, to jeans and pocket radios in the 1960s and 1970s, and even computer-related equipment in the 1980s. You can see a more detailed list of goods here.


The opportunity for athletes to smuggle was not all roses and cornfields. Smuggling was an ambiguous activity because athletes could and did receive punishments for it. Athletes had to uncover and learn the unwritten rules of the game, especially when it came to bringing goods in and out of the country, in order to smuggle. Athletes almost always faced a risk when trying to bring goods in and out of Hungary.

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