Both Nixon's (1992) notion of sport as a culture of risk and Coakley's (2004) concept of the sport ethic emphasize the norms and values athletes must adhere to in order to be successful. One of these norms is playing through pain. Within the environment of sport, athletes must often overlook and ignore pain and injury to be successful. In light of this, the current study, using an open-ended question, explored reasons why collegiate athletes made the decision to play through pain during competition. After Institutional Review Board approval, coaches of collegiate teams were contacted to set up times for administration of the questionnaires to athletes. Male (n = 67) and female (n = 60) collegiate athletes from a variety of sports (e.g., softball, basketball, swimming, and wrestling) completed a demographic questionnaire as well as an open-ended question asking the reason why they played through pain during competition. Of the 127 participants, 77 (61%) reported that they had played through pain during competition and 28 (36%) of the 77 had sustained further injury. Thus, data analysis was based on the 77 participants who had competed in pain. Data analysis included two researchers individually coding participants' answers and then discussing their codes until consensus was reached. A third researcher reviewed the codes and any disparities were discussed until agreement occurred among the three researchers. Four major labels explained why athletes' were determined to play through pain during competition. Twenty-four of the participants responded that they played through pain for reasons concerning the self. For example, these athletes did not like sitting out of their sport or they wanted to continue improving their skills. Twenty-one of the participants revealed that they played through pain due to the nature of the sport. That is, these athletes were playing during an important part of their season, fighting to keep their spot on the team, or wanting to win. Nineteen of the participants stated that they played through pain for other people, primarily their teammates. Finally, thirteen of the participants replied that either the pain was bearable or they experienced a lack of pain during competition. Participants' responses suggest they have internalized the norms of the sport ethic and the culture of risk. Specifically, the nature of sport (e.g., other people, being competitive) inspired many to continue playing even when they are injured and in pain.Keyword(s): college level issues, medical/medical care, sport topics