Final Blog Entry

by Joseph Durant

Ethical issues were honestly something I hadn't considered much prior to taking this class, but the discussions we had and the material that we covered did a great job of opening my eyes to some of the major ethical debates and potential issues in sports. I was able to openly discuss some interesting topics, and was really glad to see so many viewpoints expressed during our discussions involving collegiate sports. That is a major area of interest for me, as I hope to work in that area of sport and having so many opinions shared was a great way to see how ethical issues in collegiate sports are viewed and could potentially be handled. If there was one topic that I found most interesting, it would be violence in sports; I thought it was great to consider how violence is viewed in sport compared to everyday life, and comparatively to several different sports. Violence in sports is a great topic to discuss because of its relevance to so many other issues that are popping up in different sports leagues like the NFL and NHL. I am also glad to have had the chance to interview a professional in my field, and I think it was a great learning experience involving ethical codes and the sport industry in general. My selected professional wasn't able to provide me with a detailed code of ethics, but he did provide insight in to the importance of ethics as a professional and the ethical obligations of a someone working in his position. I would definitely say my knowledge of ethics, ethical codes, and obligations has grown tremendously during this course and it will be helpful as I continue to further my education and career. My views of ethics in sports is vastly different than before I had taken this course, as I now understand how big of a role ethics can play in many different situations in sports.

Final Post 



I took this class with an open mind because I know that master level classes involve more interaction from students. During undergrad, the teacher taught and we listened. In this course, the teacher taught our class and then challenged the class with questions. The best part was that the class was able to talk about different issues and the atmosphere was always very good even if we didn’t always agree. There were topics that some may have found uncomfortable but our class handled those questions and we sat and talked about them. The biggest thing in this class that opened my eyes was the Code of Ethics. I can say I never even thought about the Code of Ethics until Dr. Nancy brought it up. As a coach, it makes your job easier because going by the NCAA guidelines help you a lot but the Code of Ethics almost cleans up anything the NCAA guidelines may have overlooked. I also enjoyed the talk on the new law in Indiana. I didn’t know how that talk would go but I’m glad to have spoken with the class about that law. Last, but not least, I think the blogs were the best part of the course. I really enjoyed reading and commenting on those.

Vincent Marshall

Final Blog Post

No matter in what field of sports someone is pursuing a career in, at some point or another they might be confronted with ethical dilemmas. Taking this class has not only taught me to become more aware about some of these dilemmas, but from the perspective of an international student has also helped me to get a better understanding about the American sports system.

The most astonishing difference in terms of sport ethics between my home country and the US is the importance of codes of ethics. Even though I have participated in various sports leagues either as a player or coach, I have never been confronted with a code of ethics, while it seems as if almost every American sports league or organization has their own codes. Working on our assignments has furthermore helped me to gain an understanding how useful codes of ethics can be. I consider it important, especially when involved in a setting with kids or young adults, to have certain guidelines available and to make sure that all participants involved in an organization or sports league (i.e. parents, coaches, children) are at the same page from the very beginning.

Moreover, during the course of this semester I was able to identify some of the ethical issues that are unique within the American sports system. As a basketball fan I have been following the NCAA Tournament for years, however, I have never fully understood all of the regulations of college sports. Reading about “oversigning” ,“negative recruitment” or about the academic scandal at UNC has definitely helped me to get an insight into the intercollegiate sports system and some of the issues that arise with it.

To sum it up, I have thoroughly enjoyed taking this class, our lively discussions and having the chance to meet students who are involved in different fields of sports.

Andreas

Final Blog Entry- Ben Olson

After taking this class I feel like I have grown in my profession and as a person.  I have learned that I need to look at an issue from all perspectives.  It is important not to jump to a conclusion before doing so.  I have learned that every organization has a Code of Ethics, but it is also important for myself to have my own personal Code of Ethics. 

The two topics that I will take out of this class are the ones on Negative Recruiting and Oversigning.  These are both ethical issues that I face every year in the world of collegiate football.  Both are unethical and they happen too often.  Negative Recruiting is something that I don’t see going away.  Every program is trying to out-due the other programs who they are recruiting against.  I believe that each coach needs to look at him or herself, and decide if Negative Recruiting is ethical or unethical based on their own personal Code of Ethics.  Sometimes college coaches just look at a player as a number and not as a human being when it comes to oversigning.  Whenever a program oversigns, a player on the current roster will be affected in the end.

My interview with Coach Monroe was a great experience and was well worth the half hour of sitting down with him.  It made me open my eyes on some issues that full-time college coaches face when dealing with players.  I thought it was interesting that while doing the interview I realized that none of the coaches use the AFCA Code of Ethics and all use common sense and experience when deciding how to handle an issue.

Ben Olson

Final Blog

What I found most interesting or useful to read the different articles we read on how sex sells and the different opinions of those in the field. Recently I feel like there has been a negative bubble around females in sport. The articles talked about how much sexism there still is especially in advertising. While you have those that scream sexism you also have the other side that embraces it such as Rousey, who embraces her sexuality. In this particular case I learned that this is an issue still on the fence. In Skibola’s article it says that people tend to like companies that align themselves with social issues. Overall it was just very interesting to me to have the ad’s displayed and learn about the different  views. It is an ethical decision that these companies need to make before creating the ad which way they want it to be portrayed.

What I found most interesting was our talk and blog discussion on concussions. This is an issue that has grown so much in the last few years and it will only continue to. I thought it was interesting the different responses of who would and would not let their child play tackle football. I believe it raises concern when former football players don’t want their child playing. I was raised around it in my neighborhood and did not see the negative effects so I do not have the best view on it. I would like my child to play if he so desires.

What I will take with me from this course is the interview with the professional. Talking to Shannon opened my eyes to some different things I would not have always considered. Her explaining how much a Code of Ethics plays a role in her job displays how important it is. She uses her code and I imagine any boss need to have this as a set standard. Overall I found this course very interesting and enjoyed the communication in class as well as on the blogs to learn more about ethical issues.

Courtney Cox

Final Blog

This class was very insightful, enjoyable, and pertinent to our careers; I believe most of my peers would agree with me.  No matter what field we are in, we all will be faced with ethical dilemmas.  I really appreciate that Dr. Spencer geared our Code of Ethics & Interview assignment towards our individual prospective career field.  Personally, I tend to put an extra effort into assignments that directly relate to my realm.  I enjoyed the interview assignment the most.

            In my opinion, one of the best ways to learn about a job/career is to converse with someone who has experience in the desired profession.  I want to go into sport event management; I was able to gain insight on potential ethical dilemmas in this line of work.  Sports are unique because it’s unpredictable; that’s why I love them.  You need a strong code of ethics, personal or organizational, to serve as a foundation for your decision making.  Rather it’s deciding on whether or not to allow an on field gay marriage proposal or stripping Little League kids of their championship title, one must be prepared to make unexpected ethical decisions.

            I enjoyed the format of the class.  I like to hear people’s opinions on relative topics.  Whether I agree or not, I enjoy a healthy discussion.  As a class, we had good class and blog discussions.  The cycling of current events into class discussion really added to the enjoyment and flow of the class.  One lesson I’ll take away is, you’re not always going to make the right decision; we are all human.  It’s incumbent upon us to learn from our and others’ mistakes.  Educating ourselves about situations, decisions, ethics, etc. will enable us to better our decision making. There is something to be learned from every situation in every sport field.

-David Sims

Final Blog Post- Spring 2015

In response to question three pertaining to what we will take away from this class and what we learned from our assignment where we were to interview a professional in our future career field, I would have to say that this assignment was extremely beneficial for me. Before I discuss the assignment and the benefits of it, I really learned a lot from this class about seeking out and understanding the Code of Ethics and values from companies or universities that I may work at in the future. I learned the importance of understanding and making sure that my personal values and the values and ethics of a potential employer align so that I will be comfortable and feel like our values and goals are headed in the same direction.

Interviewing a professional in my field, Belkis Sanchez, in my case was an invaluable experience that I do not think I would be able to duplicate in any other way. Sitting down with her for a half an hour and really digging deep into what her guiding principles are in her everyday life. It was important for me to see what sort of code of ethics she uses and refers back to. Knowing how she formed her own personal code of ethics will help me in the long run because I know that I will be confronted with many different ethical dilemmas in my daily life when I get settled into my career. Working with student-athletes is a very rewarding and challenging feat all wrapped up in one package. Within academic advising at the collegiate level it is crucial for the advisors to set boundaries and maintain an incredible sense of professionalism, all while being able to be relatable and trustworthy so that the athletes are conformable coming to us with any sort of problem or issue they may have with school and something personal. During the interview process, Ms. Sanchez discussed the topic of confidentiality and when/when not to report something to coaches or administrators. 

Marissa Tashenberg