Elite Athletes and Psychopathy: Myths, Misconceptions, and Media Glorification - Roundtable discussion
- philprice
- May 26
- 2 min read
Hello, and welcome to the progress theory where we discuss scientific principles for optimising human performance. I am Dr Phil Price, and in this episode, we are joined by a roundtable of researchers in forensic psychiatry. We have Jill Colangelo, Dr Alexander Smith, and Professor Michael Liebrenz, all who are researchers in forensic psychiatry from the University of Bern. Now if you take the whole population, we know that a very small subset of them probably have psychopathic traits.
Now if we took that subset not from the whole population but from certain environments or professions, such as surgeons or CEOs, we would start to see that they have a higher prevalence of psychopathic traits. What about elite sport? How prevalent is psychopathy in elite sport? So that's why we brought this roundtable together – so we learn a bit more about psychopathy. What are the pros and cons of psychopathy in certain environments, and how can we identify if we have psychopathic traits?
This is quite a serious discussion. So if you feel that you have been affected by any of these topics in this discussion, please check out our show notes because we have several links there which can help.
In this episode, we discuss:
00:00 Exploring Psychopathy in Elite Sport
04:34 Sports Psychiatry Research Journey
08:17 Distinguishing Traits from Disorders
10:16 Psychopathy: Subset of Antisocial Disorder
14:32 "Inevitable Duality of Psychopathic Traits"
18:13 Athletes' Traits and Mental Health
23:19 Research Limitations on Athlete Privacy
24:25 Ethical Issues in Mental Health Diagnosis
30:14 Media's Heroic Portrayal Critiqued
32:48 Narcissism in Amateur Athletes
35:48 Mental Health Awareness vs. Advertising
41:00 Increased Accountability in Public Life
43:28 Surprising Lack of Psychopathy Awareness
45:56 "Charisma and Its Impact"
50:32 Charismatic Traits and Social Disruption
53:20 "Recognising and Understanding Abusive Traits"
Takeaways
Psychopathic traits aren’t always what you think: While often misunderstood, these traits include charm, manipulativeness, and a lack of empathy. Importantly, possessing traits is not the same as having a clinical diagnosis. The spectrum is wide, and some traits, like fearlessness or dominance, can sometimes benefit performance—but rarely exist without downsides.
The ‘bad boy’ image may have a cost: Media and cultural narratives often glamorise ruthlessness and rule-breaking in sport. While these can lead to short-term wins or headlines, the same traits can spill over into negative behaviours—impacting both personal relationships and the integrity of sport.
Awareness and education are critical: There’s a growing need for coaches, organisations, and athletes themselves to recognise these patterns—not just to improve performance, but to create healthier sporting environments. It’s also vital not to make "armchair diagnoses" but rather understand the complexity and seek professional guidance when needed.
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