Doping in Esports: A Content Analysis of Responses to Cuyler “Huke” Garland’s Disclosure of Adderall Use in Call of Duty

Esports have grown significantly in North America over the past decade. Tournaments which were once played for a couple thousand dollars to a few hundred viewers now have prize pools worth a few million dollars and are watched around the world by millions of people (Greig, 2024). With an increase in popularity comes an increase in scrutiny. This became apparent when Cuyler Garland, also known as Huke, released a video admitting to violating the Call of Duty League’s (CDL) anti-doping policies by using Adderall to gain a competitive advantage. Many First-Person Shooters (FPS), which is a type of Esport, include policies against cognitive enhancing drugs such as Adderall due to its potential performance enhancing capabilities, concern over players health and safety, and the potential for replication by spectators trying to compete at a higher level which includes many youth players. As in traditional sports, the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) can harm the legitimacy of the sport which Esports is already fighting to get past. Using a content analysis approach, this study examines the reaction of key stakeholders across the Esports community regarding the incident, how the league responded, the current policies, and what changes are recommended. Employing constructivist epistemology and a qualitative research design, this study utilized stakeholder theory and thematic analysis to analyze online data focusing on discourse surrounding Huke’s disclosure on YouTube, Twitter, and Blogs. Overall, including the Huke’s original video, the data analyzed in this study include a total of 17 (299.86min) YouTube videos, 91 tweets, 18 blog/news articles, and 7 policies. This analysis of these data revealed that minimal policy and testing procedures currently exist in FPS professional leagues. Furthermore, stakeholders identify various reasons and pressures that players face to use PEDs including to enhance focus, pressure from peers and coaches, coping with long hours of gaming, faster reaction times in the game, and to keep up with other players who are using. While it is difficult to pinpoint the exact prevalence of PED use in FPS Esports, stakeholders reveal that the use is widespread and kept a secret. There are mixed views within the FPS Esports community on just how effective certain PEDs are in enhancing performance, but a seeming consensus on concerns for the health and well-being of Esport players. Stakeholders have called for increased sanctions and testing, alongside more educational awareness training on the potential health impacts of PED use.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A. Applied Health Sciences

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Faculty of Applied Health Sciences

Department dc:contributor.department

Applied Health Sciences Program

Grantor dc:publisher

Brock University

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Bryce Salverda

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Dr. Curtis Fogel

• Esports
• Doping
• First Person Shooters
• Content Analysis

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10464/19361

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:brocku.scholaris.ca:10464/19361