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Sports Ethics for Sport Management Professionals Book Summary

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Sports Ethics for Sport Management Professionals Book Summary

Introduction
The world is connected by a sports culture with millions of individuals all over the globe
watching or participating in sports each year. Sports have never been so popular before, with
many individuals participating in them for different reasons, may be due to personal passion for
sports, because a friend participates in it, pressure from kinsmen or any other reason. The
increase in sports popularity has made sports an extremely lucrative business in both professional
sports and amateur levels such as college sports. This results in sports men doing whatever it
takes to remain relevant in their sports arena, even if their acts will be violating the basic norms.
Like any other discipline, say medicine, business, or law, sports as a discipline also requires
ethics to be prevalent. Sports management professionals (SMPs) will therefore need some sort of
manual to guide them in making the right ethical decisions when faced with difficult situations.
Sports Ethics for Sport Management Professionals was written specifically for SMPs who will
encounter many tough decisions to be made during their career. The book is also incorporated
with suitable case studies essential for study of sports ethics.
Book Summary
Chapter 1: Ethical Concepts in Sports
In this chapter, a number of ethical models are presented that SMPs may use as an avenue
to make ethical decisions. Also, several case studies are provided for the SMPs relating
discrimination, eligibility and participation, disability and ethical issues in sports that confronts
SMPs in institution and professional sports. After detailing about different sports in society, the
chapter goes ahead to giving the rationale for studying sports ethics, the ethical reasoning and
models, ethical theories and principles, non-moral values and rationalization, collaborative
ethics, and lastly the role of the SMP in ethical decision making in the workplace.
The rationale for studying sports ethics
The sports today is faced with issues such as race and ethnicity on the fore front which
end up affecting the transparency and legitimacy of the sports activities. Other issues include
gambling, drug testing, athletic eligibility, gender inequality and violence in sports activities, al
presenting serious concerns for an intellectual debate on sports ethics. On the other side,
collegiate sports are filled with ethical issues ranging from commercial exploitation, low
graduation rates, and on-field and off-field misconducts. Therefore, sports executives such as
SMPs need to have a clear understanding of the ethical decision-making process to perform their
duties honestly, professionally, and ethically. There is much advantage for the SMP who studies
sports ethics along with a study of management and law in chores execution.
Ethical Reasoning and Ethical Models
Individuals faced with ethical or moral decisions must make these decisions based on
critical ethical thinking. Ethical thinking entails unveiling how ethical decisions are to be made,
the guiding principles to be followed, and consideration of what is legally right. There are two
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separate techniques utilized to ascertain whether a decision is right or wrong; universality and
reversibility. Universalizing a decision entails applying it to all available cases within the context
and analyze if it leads to permissible results. On the other hand, reversing the case involves
applying the decision on own self and ask if the actions are permissible or acceptable to you.
Ethical Theories and Principles
Ethical theories are categorized into three main subject areas: meta-ethics, normative
ethics, and applied ethics. Meta-ethics analyzes the origin of theoretical concepts and notions
with their meaning. On the other hand, normative ethics deals with more practical tasks, by
inquiring what moral values or standards regulate right and wrong conducts or behavior.
Subfields of normative ethics include deontological theories, consequential theories,
evolutionary ethics, and virtue theories. Lastly, applied ethics examines specific, unresolved, and
controversial issues such as environmental concerns, social inequality, abortion and racial
discrimination.
Non-moral Values and Rationalization
Non-moral values are objective-based measures of life or social worth that nave no
relation to morality. These values are neither moral nor immoral, they are not good or bad nor
right or wrong, but the key aspect is how they are obtained, such values include money, fame,
success and good grades to name a few. Ethical decision making require that one attains balance
between non-moral and moral values. Individuals often rationalize their avoidance of moral
values by speculating, generalizing, making assumptions and excuses.
Collaborative Ethics
Collaborative ethics athletes play with sportsmanship and enthusiasm, and with respect
for fans, management, opposing players, and referees.
The role of the SMP in Ethical Decision Making
The SMP is required to work with the human resource department in resolving issues that
inevitably occur hence preventing disputes or lawsuits between athletes and their employers.
Also the SMP must be able to build morale, loyalty, and enthusiasm among employees. Lastly,
they oversee all the ethical aspects within the sports firm, ensuring individuals are treated with
respect and dignity.

Chapter 2: Sportsmanship, Gamesmanship, and Cheating

In chapter two, the concepts of sportsmanship, gamesmanship, and cheating are analyzed
and their differences given in detail. Cheating involves rule breaking coupled with the intent to
avoid detection. The practice of cheating violates the normative principle of honesty. Individuals
participating in sports mainly cheat due to overemphasis on winning which fosters a “winning at
all costs” attitude in them, the individuals having prestige or financial wealth as their motive in
engaging in sports, pressures to win from peers, and misplaced emphasis on the significance of
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sports in societies. Due to these reasons, individuals end up cheating despite themselves
considering the cheating practice morally or ethically wrong. On the other hand, gamesmanship
is the “winning-at-all costs” habit that utilizes legal tactics which are ethically dubious and
results in unsettling opponents. Such tactics are usually technically not against the rules but
ethically awful. Examples of gamesmanship include trash talking and excessive celebration.
However, athletes keep on trash talking, showboat, and needle their opponents thereby having an
upper hand in the game by demoralizing their opponents. Also, it is worth noting that
gamesmanship is not cheating since it typically lacks the sense of secrecy or cover up.
Opposite to gamesmanship, sportsmanship is not only an aggregate of moral qualities
comprising codes of specialized character, it is also an attitude, a posture, and a manner of
interpreting what would otherwise be only a legal code within sporting activities. The main rule
behind sportsmanship is to conduct one’s self in a way that will increase rather than decrease the
pleasures found in sporting activities. Sportsmanship involves the value of fair play, which
implies sticking to fairness and equality as indicated in the rules and regulations of the game
Individuals participating in sports activities should therefore uphold to sportsmanship
rather than gamesmanship while interacting in competitions with their opponents. However,
strict adherence to ethics should be practiced when involving in gamesmanship characteristics
such as spying and espionage. Cheating in sports should be avoided at all costs as the practice
lowers the integrity of sports.
Chapter 3: Gambling in Sports and Society
Gambling has had serious consequences in sports and ranges from game details to the full
time score. Despite its consequences, such as depreciating the integrity of the sport, gambling
practice cannot be done away with since individuals like to play games of chance with the hope
of winning. Chapter 3 explores the consequences that gambling has had on players, teams,
referees, and leagues at large, along with the measures undertaken to check the influence of
gambling in sports.
Gambling, especially if it directly involves the players is a form of cheating and affects
the conditions of winning in a sports contest, tampering with the conditions to favor one
participant over the other. Therefore, the principles of equality of chances based on an even
match of skill and strategy is destroyed. Gambling in sports does not necessarily have to be the
illegal secretive one, for some sports allows for players to gamble on their own successful
performance. Such sports include golf and automobile racing which reward the winner with prize
money. The gambling practice creates ethical issues at both professional and amateur levels, and
also results in massive loss of wealth especially when gamblers lose. Additionally, gambling
sports participants such as players and coaches are at risk of suspension by sports regulatory
bodies.
In professional sporting, leagues have implemented rules and regulations prohibiting
sports participants such as coaches and players from gambling and associating with gamblers.
Leagues want to ensure the integrity of the sport purposing the skill of the participants to
determine the winner and not match fixation.
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Sportsmen gambling on the results of their game, or receiving payment from gamblers to
affect the game’s results tampers with the integrity of the game and violates the normative
principles of transparency and lawfulness. Gambling involvement is a form of cheating
destroying the chance of winning based on skill and strategy.
Chapter 4: Ethical Issues Involving Coaches
Like other sportsmen, coaches should behave in an ethical manner towards the athletes
they are tasked to train, and in their relation with superiors and other sport practitioners. The
ethical conduct entails refraining from violence involvement, proper instructing and player
supervision, and observing applicable rules and regulations of the relevant governing body.
There are unique ethical problems in administration and organization of sports that coaches face
hence require them to have a deeper understanding of the ethical codes of conduct. The main
agenda of this chapter is analyze the meaning of ethical conduct and what does coach
misconduct entail. Coaches must embrace the ethical behaviors of and instill discipline, hard
work, and proper behavior in student-athletes.
Coach ethical conduct entails incorporating morals and ethics in the day to day activities
of the coach. Ethically, the main achievement of a coach is to ensure they model strong athletes
in the sport as well an ethics observant team. The coach should also ensure teamwork, unity and
the right team “chemistry is adopted”. The coaches also have an ethical duty of safety in which
they are supposed to provide safety to those under their care especially in youth sports. The
ethical safety duties are executed through inspecting the pitch prior to the game or practice
sessions, inspect playing instrument, ensuring availability of first aid kits and cardiopulmonary
resuscitation services, and staying informed of the medical conditions of the individuals under
their watch. In addition coaches have an ethical duty to supervise and instruct the individuals
under their charge with consideration to dangers inherent to the activity, age, skill, and maturity
of participants. In executing their roles, coaches function as role models to players and student-
athletes at both professional and amateur levels.
On the other hand, coach misconduct entails abuse of the coaching responsibilities
delegated to coaches. The abuse can take the form of mental, physical, or emotional abuse,
unreasonable confinement and excessive punishment. Coach misconduct should result in
punishment of the individuals with bans, suspensions, and even expulsions. Some practices such
sexual abuse and harassment by coaches must yield a zero-tolerance policy and be reported to
the relevant authorities.
Therefore, coaches should concentrate on executing their ethical roles, which include
incorporating morals in the individuals under their charge, ensure teamwork and other ethical
values are instilled in team members, ascertain that the athletes are safe during practice and
competition. They should also be aware of the consequences and demerits of associating with
coach misconduct.

Chapter 5: Ethical Considerations Involving Fans and Parents

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Fans and parents are very important participants to the success of any sporting program.
They act as peers who give motive to the athletes to keep pushing towards success in the sport.
In youth-sports, parents are a crucial element of any sport organization. Ethical parents are
supportive of coaches and the youth-athletes, they instill respect for coaches and other
individuals in the young athletes. On the other hand, fans buy tickets thus providing financial
support for the sporting activity, and also provide psychological support to the sportsmen via
cheering. With increased participation in sports is accompanied the ethical aspect that must be
upheld by parents and fans at large to ensure the legitimacy of the sport. Chapter 5 explores the
ethical and unethical concepts that may arise with increased parent and fan participation in
sports.
Parental ethics behavior involves understanding that their children participation in sports
is part of the educational process and should not be interfered with regardless of the sports
results. Ethical parents praise their children’ attempts in participation and do not insist on the
children winning, despite that no one loves to see their associates lose. Parents should be their
children’s role models and encourage sportsmanship by demonstrating support for all players and
team in general. Ethical parents should watch for teachable moments during sporting and instill
the “losing gracefully” analogy in their children.
For the sake of upholding the legitimacy of the sport, parents and fans should avoid
unethical practices such as parental- or fan-rage, fan heckling, stalking, and other inappropriate
fan conduct. Rage, within sports context is defined as any physical attack onto other persons
such as striking, wounding, or touching in an offensive way, and any malicious verbal abuse,
threats and subsequent violence. Parental and fan rage can cause major ethical dilemmas for
youth sport organizations and even present serious legal concerns and should be avoided with all
means possible.

Chapter 6: Violence in Sports

In sports, violence is the use of physical force to effect harm or injury on another person
in an unjust, unwarranted and unlawful manner. Violence acts have to be intentional, thus, when
an injury or harm is caused unintentionally during sports is considered an accident but not a
violence act. However, violence in sports has become a major issue affecting almost every major
sport. Chapter 6 explores issues of violence, and how violence in all sports level should be
regulated.
Rules and regulations are put in place to standardize the play, protect the participants, and
directly regulate participant violence. There are three categories of rules and regulations
developed for organized competitive sports to standardize the play, regulate behavior, and
prevent harm. The rules include constitutive, proscriptive, and sportsmanship rules. Constitutive
rules give structure to sports and are designed to equalize competition and standardize a
competitive environment. These rules help to make games fair and provide equitable competitive
opportunities, they specify and regulate factors such as age, weight, skill level, gender, residence,
and length of games just to mention a few. Proscriptive rule on the other hand prohibit particular
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actions by participants trying to gain a competitive edge during the game. Contrary to
constitutive and proscriptive rules, sportsmanship rules are formulated to encourage participants
to play within the rules in a sportsmanlike manner. Sportsmanship rules promote ethical behavior
and discourage violent behavior.
Additional efforts to prevent violence in sports such as sanctions also prove effective.
Sanctions in sports are of two types; civil and criminal sanctions. Equally, coming up with
standards of conduct for participants also checks sports violence. It is also of importance that not
only the on-field violence be considered, punishing off-field violence will help nature non-
violent players.

Chapter 7: The Ethics of Drug Use and Testing

Chapter 7 explores drug testing, use, and its ethical implications in the contexts of both
professional and collegiate sports. Use of steroids in sports has become prevalent and
controversial in all levels of sports. The Ethics of Drug Use and Testing topic explores the
implications of drug use and testing in the world of sports. The topic presents the ethical
dilemmas for the athletes and the SMP. To counteract the effect of drugs in sporting, major
sports leagues have enacted drug testing policies, which provides for testing the athletes for both
performance enhancing drugs and recreational drugs. Drug testing is purposed to prevent the use
of artificial drugs by competitors which will violate the fairness of the game to participants.
The use of performance enhancing drugs among athletes poses multiple ethical dilemmas
and raises numerous concerns addressing the normative principles and moral values violated
with using the drugs. Performance drugs usage is unethical in the world of sports since it
introduces the aspect of cheating in the game, especially, when only one party is advantaged with
the drug use. The issue of drug use also brings to concern the integrity of the sporting activity.
The availability of masking agents, chemical substances which prevents the detection of
performance enhancing drugs, also promoted the usage of the drugs for providing an ultimate
cover up and deception plan. However, some athletes may have consumed these drugs wrongly
due to wrong labelling or poor advice. Therefore, ethics should be considered in executing drug
testing operations.
The malpractice of drug use is not only witnessed in professional sports but also extents
to interscholastic athletics. College sports in particular are only one step from career sporting,
they therefore experience massive steroids usage to increase performance for the athlete to transit
to the next level. Equally, drug policies implementation in junior level sports is somehow not
strict due to non-compliance by learning institutions and other factors such as lack of testing
materials. The opposite is evident in major leagues and sporting occasions such as Olympics
where very strict measures are adopted to prevent steroids use. For instance, the World Anti-
Doping Code Agency (WADA) code are adopted in all major sports events. The code provides a
uniform system of drug-testing procedures and penalties for violations. To avoid drug policies
violation penalties, athletes should avoid drug usage, both performance enhancing and
recreational drugs.
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Chapter 8: Ethical considerations of Race in Sports

Race has a very long history in sports. In the current times, racial and discrimination
issues have thrived in all levels of sports and involves all participants, ranging from sports
officials, coaches, athletes to fans. Chapter 8 deals with issues related to race and discrimination
especially during employment are discussed.
Discriminatory treatment on the basis of race involves intentional or unintentional
practices. Unintentional racial discrimination practices are mostly rooted in preconceived ideas
such as stereotyping against one’s race. The rate of racial discriminations are witnessed widely
in professional sports with clear indications of particular races being favored while other races
are overlooked during hiring. For instance, the banning of African American athletes from
participating in major professional baseball after 1899. Despite the ban, many major and minor
leagues still engaged black professional clubs in the sport.
The scope and extent of racial discriminations in sports necessitated efforts to check on
the spread of the practice. Different strategies such as disciplining athletes for racial based
malpractices, such as fining and suspension of players. The effectiveness of these strategies is
however maximized if they are applied both to on-field an off-field malpractices. Unlike in
professional sports, the effects of race in amateur sports is much amplified for in most scenarios
is accompanied by violence. Racial discriminations and violence in youth’s sports is so serious
that violence outbreaks from mere things such as nicknames. This has seen most NCAA colleges
and universities changing their team names especially if the initial name posed an aspect of
hostility or abuse to the opponent’s race, ethnicity or nationality.
In summary, racial discrimination practices like any other unethical malpractices tampers
with the integrity and legitimacy of the sport. Participants should therefore uphold characters that
are strongly against racial discriminations. Also, racial considerations should be dropped during
the hiring process of sportsmen.

Chapter 9: Ethical Duties of Sports Agents.

The skyrocketing of player salaries created a market for sports agents who majorly
stepped in and negotiated lucrative player and endorsement contracts. Unfortunately, sports
agents have not always the best reputations due to few unethical incidences attached to the
profession. In chapter 9, several ethical issues facing sports agents, their legal responsibilities,
and regulatory systems running the operation of agents are detailed.
Agents owe certain responsibilities and ethical duties to their principals, the athletes,
avoiding potential and actual conflicts with other individuals. First, they have a duty of
confidentiality and accounting for all resources handled on behalf of the athlete. Sports agents
acts as a fiduciary on behalf of the athlete with the latter’s interest prioritized. The primary duties
of sports agents are their obligation to act in good faith during the representation process. In
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essence, agents must be honest, credible, trustworthy, and capable to perform all their duties.
These duties include negotiating a player’s or endorsement contracts, arrange for investment
counselling, provide career planning advice, promote and protect the public image of the athlete,
and perform legal works, especially if the agent is a lawyer.
Due to the stiff competitions in the industry to make huge contracts for star players,
unscrupulous, unethical, and cutthroat methods are employed by some agents to obtain clients.
The competition is as a result of few professional athletes to represent. The unethical conducts
done by agents in the name of winning key professional athletes include; stealing agents from
other agencies, making improper inducements, asking for more than the required agent fees, and
making fraudulent representations.
Numerous entities have focused to keep unethical and criminal conduct of agents out of
the sports industry, these include player’s associations, legislative bodies, state attorney general’s
association, and universities (Applicable for collegiate sports). The efforts employed include
certification of agents, and suspension of players who are related to agent’s unethical behaviors
just to name a few.
Chapter 10: Gender Discrimination and Title IX
Women have generally faced gender discrimination in many other field such as business,
politics, and education. The gender disparity effect is further portrayed in sports with women on
the disadvantaged end. However, the role of women in sports has increased in recent years, with
increased number of participants in different fields. The increased participation unveils different
non-ethical obstacles and barriers, such as sexual harassment, that women face in sports
currently. Chapter 10 details of un-ethical obstacles faced by women in sports, and title IX, a
discussion that contributes a lot to make women’s sports “equal” to men’s sports.
Gender discrimination practices are both unethical and illegal and should be remedied
using the best possible available means. Girls’ sports teams have suffered inequalities in
receiving essential services such as medical services, recruiting budgets, provision of equipment
and facilities, disparity in pay, and travelling expenses just to name a few. Most teams have
defiled the general participation rule with the male athletes being favored at the expenses of their
female counterparts. In addition to gender discrimination in access to resources, other unethical
malpractices such as sexual harassment, abuse, and violence towards women also have thrived.
The increased inequalities in conditions for participation in sports between women and
men necessitated for legal counteractive mechanism to address the issue. The title IX partially
provides a remedy to the gender disparity. The statute states that “No person in the United states
shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be
subjected to discrimination in education program or activity receiving federal financial
assistance.” The title IX statute applies mostly to youth and collegiate sports but not professional
leagues. Therefore, further efforts should be employed to ensure gender equality in all sports
levels.
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Chapter 11: Ethical Considerations in Sports Media

Sports and the media have always been interrelated. Fans have accessed sporting events
through the media for over a century. The development of technology has globalized sports
unlike in the history times when teams only received local fans. Currently, fans follow a variety
of sporting events, teams, players, and coaches. With this critical role, media practitioners have
ethical expectations required out of them in ensuring the integrity of the information they pass to
fans. Chapter 11, sports ethics are discussed in the context of sports media, and ethical issues
abounding social media.
Sports media ethics in particular to journalistic activities is a key concept that media
practitioners should consider. Reporters and writers are in possession of a great deal of power
and can, with just a few words reveal a devastating truth or a bold face lie. The media through
couple of words, can control the fate of nations and important people in the society, therefore,
media outlets have an ethical duty to perform journalism in accordance with the highest
standards. Media outlets should ensure they uphold integrity in the in the information they
provide, this can be achieved by producing accurate information, by personally involving in the
research rather than relying on other external sources for information. Equally, the information
provided should be bias free, regardless of the personal stand of the media practitioners.
The development of technology and rise of social media changed the way information is
gathered, transcribed, and reported. The social media has affected the reporting of sports in a
variety of ways, these include the speed of information transmission, and the number of
individuals reached with the information. Advanced information transmission technologies can
be used for both good and bad applications. With the increased speed of information
transmission, verifying the truth of the story and fact-checking can become a more much difficult
task. To counteract the challenges accompanying use of social media, many media outlets have
social media policies that also ensure that journalistic ethics are upheld in the social media
environment.

Chapter 12: Commercialization of College Sports

In chapter 12, sports ethics are discussed in the context of the NCAA’s collegiate model
of athletics. The model was fabricated by Myles Brand, a former NCAA president as a way to
recommit to the academic success of intercollegiate athletics, to respect that the student-athlete is
centralized to the enterprise, and to reconnect athletics programmatically and financially with the
rest of the universities. The chapter focuses on ethical concerns related to big money sports. In
strikes that most college team coaches earn up to ten million dollars annually whereas college
athletes earn nothing.

The NCAA’s “Collegiate Model of Athletics”

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The NCAA’s “Collegiate Model of Athletics” is a sporting model in youth sports that
aimed at counterchecking athletes from financial exploitation and protect their wellbeing health
wise. The model’s main goal was to countercheck “business of amateurs”, a term used to refer
to financial exploitation of athletes and a parallel failure to protect their physical health. The
concept of equitable sharing among athletes and their sponsors is highly upheld in the NCAA’s
“Collegiate Model of Athletics.” The model’s main agenda conforms to the Knight Commission
report on restoring the balance in intercollegiate athletics. In preventing the exploitation of
college sports by different stakeholders, the commission suggested a variety of changes to
control unsavory college athletic spending. The key reforms include:
 Compiling annual reports on athletic revenues and expenditures
 Reinstate “financial integrity” in NCAA certification process
 Reduce the lengths of seasons and number of sporting events
 Limit the number of non-coaching personnel
 Consider reducing scholarship levels
The report sets forth achievable reforms that when implemented will minimize on
exploitation of college sports and also set a foundation on which future reforms will build on.

Conclusion
The book, Ethics for Sports Management Professionals equips learning Sports
management professionals with the right knowledge to deal with different ethical issue that they
will interact with while in the field. The book’s text is also organized topically into chapters with
the right case studies and relative questions on the topics for effective internalization of the main
ideas portrayed in chapter. The book is the right text for learning professionals in sports
management industry.