ABSTRACT
The American Poolplayers Association, founded in 1979, is an international billiard league established in the United States, Canada, and Japan, with more than 250,000 members. The most difficult problem facing the American Poolplayers Association (APA)’s league operators is the deliberate cheating by the competing players. Players cheat to lower their skill level, allowing them to win more easily in important billiard matches such as the APA international championships. Qualitative interviews revealed that when asked about their cheating behavior, the players used all five “techniques of neutralization to rationalize their actions attempting to protect their self-image and to help insulate them from external judgments.
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Timothy O’Boyle
TIMOTHY O’BOYLE (Ph.D., Rutgers School of Criminal Justice) is an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology/Sociology at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on gambling, deviant behavior, and juvenile delinquency. Dr. O’Boyle can be contacted at [email protected].