Award Date

Spring 2012

Degree Type

Professional Paper

Degree Name

Master of Science in Sport and Leisure Service Management

Department

Hotel Administration

First Committee Member

James Busser, Chair

Number of Pages

43

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine what role ethics plays in athletic participation and what intrinsic and/or extrinsic factors may influence the decision making process of athletes. Once identified, the information found in this paper can be used to help athletes understand their own thought processes concerning rules adherence and to assist them in making a conscious decision to follow the rules to achieve their goals.

Statement of Problem: The exploration of the literature will reveal the many factors and conditions that an athlete faces that will influence their decision to participate within the confines of the rules. Cheating in sport is a problem if the goal of the competition is to provide a level playing field where opponents are able to compete fairly to achieve victory. The literature will either vet this thought process out or will show that cheating is not a significant problem. The literature will also examine an eclectic set of circumstances that often influence an athlete to determine whether a moral based viewpoint of sport and athletic competition will be held or if the end (winning or success) justifies the means (gaining any advantage to succeed in competition).

Justification: Sports are playing a more prominent role in our society and athletes are constantly faced with decisions relative to the adherence to policies and rules. This paper will review the literature on the many different factors and outcomes that come from cheating as opposed to keeping the rules that can assist coaches, administrators and parents in teaching rules adherence to athletes who may be faced with the moral dilemma to win at all costs. In addition, this paper will set the stage for research to fully understand the symptoms of a much greater issue, cheating.

Keywords

Athletes – Conduct of life; Sports – Corrupt practices; Sports – Moral and ethical aspects

Disciplines

Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility | Sports Management | Sports Studies

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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