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.
I agree with Joey that discussing the topic of violence within sports was definitely an interesting one. I personally still am not sure what I believe is ethical. I do not particularly like violence and would obviously never condone it outside of sports at all. I also sometimes hate the violent side of sports. Working as an athletic trainer I see the damage caused by violence in sports. I want my athletes to be safe at all times and watching them get injured by another athlete (though I know it is not on purpose) is never easy. On the other hand, when I am a spectator, I actually enjoy seeing the fights in hockey and witnessing the aggression in a football game. I do believe that this is the nature of athletics and it is just part of sports that we all need to be aware of and adjust in order to deal with it. I know I am contradicting myself that is why this topic was a challenging one for me to discuss. I think that is why it is important bring up these topics in classes like this. It allows us to see different viewpoints to help us in determining what is ethical and what is not.
ReplyDeleteAllie McDavitt
I agree with Allie, as I've said all semester I believe aggression and physicality is simply the nature of sports, especially football. However, aggression is often misinterpreted and in a way misunderstood. Aggression in sports is typically viewed as a particular amount of tenacity which sometimes results in high levels of physical play causing big hits, hard fouls, etc. But I think the object of aggression is to put yourself in the right position to make a play, in any sport. A player must be aggressive in order to gain ground on or beat their opponent to a position that will help them make a play, for this reason, I am a huge supporter of aggressive play. With that said, I support aggression as long as its within the rules and not done with ill intentions, but as long as its in attempt to position themselves to make a play then it should be commended. Another topic I found interesting was how women athletes are often (now days) marketed as sex symbols and not as players of their craft. The sex appeal in sport baffles me, it taints the culture of sport and misrepresents it. I do agree that it happens both ways with male and female athletes and I do agree that its hypocritical for someone to be ok with one and not the other. However I feel that both are unnecessary and sport should be more protected from condoning sex appeal. I would hate to see it grow into our culture even more than it has, not only for sports, but for society as well.
ReplyDeleteJonathan Robinson
Ι agree with Jon, aggression and physical play is a part of sport. It was very interesting to have this discussion in class. When we talk about violence or aggression in sports, people tend to only associate these terms with football and hockey. The word aggression is often time automatically assumed to be negative. In class we talked about good and bad aggression and where the dirty line is drawn. Good aggression is grounded in skill while dirty plays have an intentional harm foundation.
ReplyDeleteAggression is most often associated with contact sports, and that would means women’s sports aren’t able to produce aggression. We addressed this mistaken assumption. Courtney made a good point in class; she said an aggressive play could be made in softball if a player slides into 2nd base in an attempt to break up a double play. Marissa also talked about how women volleyball players can make aggressive plays with different types of hits on the ball. Aggression is not solely in contact sports. As a class, we were able to discuss readings, reflect on them, and formulate our own opinions. This aspect made this class very enjoyable.
-David Sims