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

Final Blog

This class for me this semester was one of the ones that I enjoyed the most. It was really nice to talk about events within the sports worlds and how ethical issues can arise within the day to day loves of people that work in sports. As an Athletic Trainer I have always been aware of how important it is to make ethical decisions and as I climb the ladder and work in different levels of sports I really see how different issues can arise at each level. I never really looked deeply into my Code of Ethics and this class really made me analyze it and improve my knowledge on it. Also interviewing Daniel Fischer helped me get a different perspective on Code of Ethics and how he deals with certain dilemmas. I really have not had any ethical issues that I have had to take care of myself but highlighting different issues in Athletic Training really made me aware of different things that could possible happen when it comes to caring for my athletes. I really found the blogs about concussions really reinforce my thinking on how important it is to care for those athletes that do have concussions as coaches may have a tendency to overstep their boundaries and try to push an athlete back into play way sooner than they should be. I found that this discussion was very helpful and will help me to make more ethical decisions if that ever should arise when I am working in my career. This class really helped me to reinforce my own personal code of ethics and the NATA’s code of ethics and it made a huge impact on how I will handle things in the future.

Amanda Notley

Final Entry

From the classes this semester I have gained a lot of insight into ethical issues in sports. The most valuable take away for me is looking at each ethical situation from multiple angles.  Prior to this class I might read an article or watch an interview and just formulate my own opinion on the matter. Having various discussions in class, and hearing different points of view has expanded my awareness of these contemporary ethical issues.  My take away and application from this class will be to make a code of ethics for my Track and Field team for training room behavior.  I think that there are specific rules that obviously need to be in place.  A joint code of ethics will allow my track athletes to know what to expect from me, as well as give them a chance to conduct themselves appropriately.

The interview in our class was valuable to me because it gave me an idea of some ethical based questions that I may want to ask in a future job interview.  I want to work in a job setting where ethical practice is held in high regard. I will be taking a couple of questions from this interview to apply to those situations.

Another piece that I will take away from this class is going to ESPN’s Outside The Lines on a regular basis. Reading up on current ethical issues interests me, and I have found this site to be a good starting point when discovering contemporary topics.  

Matthias E. Reiber

Final Blog Entry

We covered many different issues in class this semester. Many dealt with behavioral decisions that had repercussions and consequences. One of the main learning points I can say I really took on this semester was asking myself how I would respond to each scenario if I were in charge of it.

Whether it be a Kentucky administrator dealing with the comments made by Andrew Harrison, the Red's front office dealing with Brian Price or anyone from FSU to the NFL handling Jameis Winston's character and behavioral issues, I have learned how to set up my own ethical policies and procedures on what I would do if facing those circumstances. We now have shed some light on all of the ethical dilemmas going on in the sports world currently. We all can now know what the current issues and discussions are on and what we may face as we go on to have jobs in the sport's world.

The 2 biggest lessons I learned were to find out the ethical code of conduct for whoever you are working for and understand it completely front to back. Once you have a grasp on your employer's code of conduct, the next step in my mind is to see how it aligns with your own personal code of conduct. That may be the biggest talking point of the class; establishing your own personal code of conduct. The only way to feel comfortable and confident in making high-stakes decisions is if you know that morally you are doing what is right from your standpoint.

We must always ask ourselves if what we are doing is right. If there's any doubt in our mind that we may be doing something that goes against the ethical code of conduct set forth by ourselves or for those we work for or/with, we must seek guidance in our decisions. Time and time again, we see the mistakes made by those in sports who call their own number and act without the consent of others and 9/10 times it backfires.


By Eric Vendemia

Final Blog: Question #2

Out of all the topics posted on the blog, the topic that was most interesting to me was Britt McHenry’s outburst. The reason Britt’s video that was posted on TMZ caught my attention the most is because all semester we talked about how to behave in situations and how ethics plays a role in our daily lives. Britt is a public figure. Her presence must be monitored at all times because she represents ESPN both on and off camera. Seeing her reaction to getting her car towed was not only slightly comical, but disgraceful. 

The woman who was working at the tow shop had zero control over the tow truck towing Britt’s car, yet Britt took all of her anger and frustration out on this woman. A major lesson I took away from our class this semester is that ethics needs to be applied in all situations. While we focused on ethics in sport, ethics needs to be maintained in daily life. Making the right decisions, handling situations properly, and interacting with other people are such crucial aspects of life both professionally and socially. Britt’s outburst consists of her demeaning the woman’s education, appearance, and job. Who is Britt to judge this woman? Maybe this woman was unable to afford a college education and this is the only job she was able to get. This woman could be college educated and decided she wanted to operate a tow truck company. Whatever the reason may be, this woman should not be degraded by Britt for reasons that did not at all correlate with Britt’s car getting towed. 

The way ESPN handled this situation is also a major ethical issue. Britt should have been let go from her position on this highly publicized station. ESPN has set an example now that sports anchors, athletes, etc. can behave inappropriately but still reap the benefits of being employed by EPSN.  Seeing as there are many beautiful, talented anchors that would die to work for ESPN, it’s not like they would have had a hard time replacing Britt for an anchor that possesses class and an ethical demeanor.

By: Kali Morgenstern