Why Ethics in Sports is important?

Usually we know the rules of the game, we watch a referee judging and athletes competing. But from times to times we spot the moment when the things are going wrong: when athletes are cheating, a judge doesn’t catch wrongdoing, when faking a foul or injury takes place, opponents intimidating the other team, or a team playing tough by breaking game’s rules. All these issues are related to ethics in sports. And ethics in sports is becoming more crucial because nowadays the world of sports faces a bunch of ethical problems.

Ethics is so important in the world of sports because it stands not only for a fair play but also for respectful and ethical behavior of all the parties engaged like athletes, referees, fans, while playing a game or competing. Nowadays in the world of sports we can see how the rules of a fair game are being broken just in the pursuit of a victory. Below are the main ethical problems the world of sports facing:

- Performance enhancing drugs

Pretty simple here - athletes take drugs to make their bodies to perform faster and better, which leads to greater results in performance.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance_Armstrong_doping_case

- Gender Discrimination

It’s when girls and women are not allowed to play and do sports or when women are not equally paid in sports. For example, the case with the US female football team -the winners of the Women World Cup 2019 in France https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomspiggle/2019/07/19/what-the-u-s-womens-soccer-controversy-says-about-equal-pay/#54bf43ff6b50

- Fair Play

Respecting the rules of the sport you’re playing, as well as opponents. For fostering sportsmanship in international competition, in 1963 there was established The International Fair Play Committee.

http://www.fairplayinternational.org/home

- Responsibility for the performance

Controlling your actions and emotions on the field, not blaming the officials in case of your own failure and loose

https://drstankovich.com/athletes-need-to-control-emotions-if-they-want-to-play-their-best/

- Fans

Attitude and behavior during matches and competitions

http://pointofthegame.blogspot.com/2012/11/sports-fan-ethics.html

- Diversity

Fair employment in the field regardless race, ethnicity and gender

https://humanrightsissues.org/sports-and-diversity-challenges-and-opportunities/

- Protection of athletes’ health and safety

Especially in youth and women's sport, where athletes must be protected from sexual abuse and from all forms of harassment and bullying, as well as trainer’s abuse.

https://www.citynews1130.com/2019/02/27/whitecaps-womens-abuse/

As new challenges arise and the field of sports develops and becomes more complex, those working in sport industries will need to be equipped to address new ethical questions and do something about the lack of a strong ethic in sports before it is too late. All of us should be aware of those ethical problems, because we all somehow belong to this world of sports as well.

Links:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THGvsT-m4oU
2. https://www.edx.org/course/ethics-sports-do-sports-morally-matter-hamiltonx-phil108x
3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/sport/
4. https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/more/resources/what-role-does-ethics-play-in-sports/
5. http://www.maisi-project.eu/