Article
Teaching Ethics with Sports: Recent Developments
Marquette Sports Law Review
(2018)
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to introduce some of the recent (since 2011) situations and incidents at various levels of sport competition. The article can be used as a springboard for further research and exploration, but our intent is to focus on ethical and legal examples that can be used in the classroom primarily for pedagogical purposes. Using sport examples is often an engaging way to teach ethics in the context of a business or sports law course. We divide our analysis into four major categories: Part I: addresses youth (including amateur and recreational) and interscholastic sport. Part II explores intercollegiate (college) sport. Part III covers Olympic-related sport, and Part IV dives into professional sport. Indeed, the question of whether one may, must or should act in a particular manner is often unclear and for the decision-maker. Issues related to how one must act might vary from state to state, given a law, rule, code of ethics or a policy within that organization or jurisdiction. As we show, particularly at the youth and interscholastic sport level, current ethical issues often focus on the principle of sportsmanship rather than a clear violation of a law, rule or policy. However, decisions by participants, coaches and administrators sometimes have legal issues and ramifications, along with consequences, and this article attempts to address the intersection between the two. Questions are posed after each subsection, intended to foster further consideration by professor and student alike.
Keywords
- Sportsmanship; ethics; fraud; misconduct; coaching misconduct,
- raging parents,
- unethical behavior,
- Jackie Robinson West,
- tanking,
- handshakes,
- college sports,
- National Collegiate Athletic Association,
- NCAA,
- student-athletes,
- academic fraud,
- Native American mascot issues,
- Penn State,
- Sandusky case,
- Indiana University Student-athlete Bill of Rights,
- doping,
- Lance Armstrong,
- WADA,
- Russian doping scandal,
- inappropriate tweets,
- Olympics,
- match-fixing,
- corruption,
- Tom Brady,
- Deflategate,
- Hackgate,
- domestic violence,
- concussion,
- National Football League,
- NFL.
Disciplines
Publication Date
Summer August 16, 2018
Citation Information
Adam Epstein and Barbara Osborne. "Teaching Ethics with Sports: Recent Developments" Marquette Sports Law Review Vol. 28 Iss. 2 (2018) p. 301 - 357 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/adam_epstein/51/