Final Blog Wrap Up

By Alexx Klein

There were many topics presented in the blog entries that I found especially interesting, and through reading them I learned a lot about ethical values and decision-making. Being in the sports journalism field since high school, I have always been exposed to ethics. I took a mandatory ethics class my senior year at Indiana University in the journalism school, which initially opened my eyes to how gray the topic was. This class really solidified for me the idea that every person views ethics with a different lens. This could be innate or because of the way someone was raised, but regardless of the reason, the truth is that there are many ways to view an (un)ethical situation.

It is hard to choose just one blog topic to focus my attention. With having a class of 20+ people, it was interesting to see some of the articles and topics people found to post about. I tended to concentrate on articles and issues close to my field of work, so seeing entries on personal training, recruiting and law, for example, was refreshing to look at in my eyes. Take a look at some of the topics of past blog entries…

The Reds manager’s outburst… was it ethical?

The wrestler who let a kid with downs syndrome win a match… was it ethical?

Kentucky’s Andrew Harrison’s comment to Frank Kaminsky… was it ethical?

The quick firing of former BGSU basketball coach Chris Jans… was it ethical?

The list can go on and on from the topics students discussed in the blogs and in class, but the one thing that remains clear to me is that there is no right answer. Everyone has their own opinion of what is moral and what is ethical. Who I am to tell someone what they think and feel is right or wrong. It takes a patient, understanding person to ultimately respect someone else’s opinions on a controversial topic. I truly believe this course pushed us to do just that; be respectful of others’ views.

Thanks for an interesting semester, Dr. Spencer.

Guidelines for Final Blog Entry and Comments - posted by Dr. Spencer

HMSL 6340 – Critically Evaluating Ethical Issues in HMSLS

Guidelines for posting a Final Blog Entry and Comments are the same as those that were in effect for writing previous entries (i.e., for Blog entries, length should be at least 250 words; entries will be graded on the basis of content, grammar, spelling, and flow. The maximum points you can receive will be 10 pts. for an entry and 5 pts. for comments (you can either do one longer comment in response to someone’s blog entry or you can do multiple shorter comments). Thus, you can receive a maximum of 15 points for this week’s entries. Below is an outline of what you might include in your Final Blog entry and comments. You do not need to address every point.

Final Blog Entry

1.      What did you find useful and/or most interesting to read about and/or discuss in class? How did the readings and/or discussions (in-class or online) make you think differently about an issue? What did you learn specifically about ethical values, Codes of ethics, and/or ethical decision-making in or through sports?

2.      Which of the topic(s) presented in Blog entries did you find especially interesting? What did you learn about ethical values and/or decision-making as a result of reading about a given topic that someone presented in a blog entry?

3.      What will you take with you from this class (readings and/or discussions) that you will be able to use in your future career(s)? How did interviewing a professional in your field help you to understand ethical dilemmas you might face and how to address them?

4.      Since you may also be working with people who need to develop guidelines for ethical decision-making, what are some of the ways that you might instill ethical values in those with whom you work? What are specific ways that you (or someone in your profession) could work to convey ethical values through sport?

5.      Is there anything else that you would like to add about an ethical issue that we discussed (or that you would like to have discussed more) in class or online? Perhaps your thoughts have evolved and you have gained new insights in thinking further about this issue.

Comments:

·         In responding to Final blog entries, you may want to agree or disagree with what someone wrote. Try to develop additional ideas about how you were influenced by a reading and/or discussion that was raised in a person’s final blog entry.

Final Blog Entries should be posted no later than 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 5.

Comments should be posted no later than 6:00 p.m. Thursday, May 7.

100 MPH Fastball, Aiming for the Head

by Joey Durant

Last weekend, the MLB saw an extreme case of retaliation and temperament in one of their generally calm baseball games. The Oakland Athletics and the Kansas City Royals played a in a very heated matchup on April 19th, which ended with five ejections. The teams were already tense after Brett Lawrie, of the A's, slid hard into second base and collided with Royals' shortstop Alcides Escobar the day before. Lawrie was hit in the elbow by a pitch later in that game from Yordano Ventura, who was ejected immediately. Late in the Saturday game, Brett Lawrie was targeted again, this time by Kelvin Herrera. Herrera flung a 100 mph fastball past Lawrie's head, leading to another ejection. As he was leaving the field, Herrera pointed towards his head and was seen shouting something to Lawrie who had walked to first base (SI Wire, 2015). The pitch was viewed as a clearly intentional action, meaning to hit Lawrie in the head with what would have been a brutal pitch in retaliation for Lawrie injuring Escobar the day before. A's reliever Sean Doolittle took to Twitter to voice his opinions of the incident, calling Herrera's actions "bush league" and "hot garbage" in reference to the pitch and to Herrera pointing at his head (SI Wire, 2015; para. 4).

Retaliation like this is not new to baseball, but the fact that Herrera aimed for the head of Lawrie with a 100 mph pitch is disturbing. Getting hit with a baseball at any speed can be dangerous, but that type of intent could legitimately end a players career. Pitchers typically will pitch inside on a batter that they want to send a message to, and will usually pitch to their abdomen area. That retaliation may not be right, but at least it won't send a guy to the hospital. Herrera, in my opinion, acted with malice and a true intent to injure Lawrie. He used the baseball as a weapon, aimed at Lawrie's head and luckily missed. Herrera should be suspended for his actions, but even then I don't think he should be put in against the A's in the future in order to avoid any similar incidents.

Do you think that Herrera should be punished by the league, either in the form of a suspension or fine? What ethical considerations are in play when a pitcher decides to retaliate against an opposing batter? Is there a difference in intentionally throwing at a batters body, rather than their head? Should intentional throws like Herrera's be more strictly policed by the MLB?

References

SI Wire. (2015, April 19). Five Royals ejected in win over Athletics. Retrieved from http://www.si.com/mlb/2015/04/19/kansas-city-royals-ejections-oakland-athletics-kelvin-herrera-brett-lawrie

Jameis Winston Incident cont.

More Crab talk..

“A little more than a year ago, then-Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston was issued a civil citation in Tallahassee for shoplifting $32.72 worth of crab legs from a Publix.” (TBO, 2015, para.1) We thought that this incident was long and over with but now there is a “part two” to this story.  The funny story about a big time FSU quarterback stealing crab legs has grown into a bigger joke.

Now, Jameis claims those crab legs came as part of a deal he had with a Publix employee who swore to hook him up with free food whenever he stepped foot into his store.  Being a student-athlete at a Division school accepting free food goes against NCAA’s compliance rules.  Not only is free food illegal but so are “hook-ups”, upgrades, discounts any of these will result in a violation. 

Winston was given a citation last year for stealing crab legs from a Tallahassee Publix, though he said last week it was a misunderstanding and he was "hooked up" with crab legs for free.  Either way he was wrong in the crab leg incident because whether he stole them or got them for free, it’s an NCAA violation.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, “Winston is considered the likely choice by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft on April 30. If the former Florida State quarterback is selected by the Bucs in Thursday's NFL draft, Skipper's Smokehouse will give him free crab legs for as long as he's with the team.” (Perez, 2015)

What are your thoughts on Jameis Winston?

How do you feel about this place giving Winston free crab legs for as long as he’s on the team?

 Is it okay to just make a big joke out of this situation?

Jasmine Matthews

Cummings, R. (2015, April 22). Winston says crab legs were given to him, not stolen. Retrieved April 27, 2015, from http://tbo.com/sports/bucs/winston-says-crab-legs-were-given-to-him-not-stolen-20150422/

Perez, A. (2015). Tampa's Skipper's 'hooks up' Jameis Winston with crab legs. Retrieved April 27, 2015, from http://www.tampabay.com/sports/football/bucs/tampas-skippers-hooks-up-jameis-winston-with-crab-legs/2227163

Mayweather Domestic Violence Aligations

Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao on May 2nd. Everyone will be tuning in to see this long awaited matchup. Going back as far as 2001 there have been several allegations towards Floyd Mayweather. All of these cases involve domestic violence towards women. One of these incidences resulted in a 90 day jail sentence. Please watch the video below

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:12758110

My biggest reaction after watching the video is: what is the purpose of the boxing commission? I find it fairly obvious that the boxing commission has slept on this case due to the high profile of both boxers, and the implications of this fight. Now domestic violence in sports is nothing new, as we have seen this semester. The NFL is starting to crack down on domestic violence and in an attempt to change its image. Does the violence of boxing change peoples reaction to the nature of Mayweather's alleged crimes? We have to keep in mind that he has only been convicted of one of these allegations. Even so, why do you think the boxing commission issued him a license? As the short film stated, people have had their licenses revoked for minor crimes. Do you think that some of these people on the commission are motivated by money? This will arguably go down as one of the best boxing matchups in history. I have to say that I am excited for this fight. I wonder if we will see anything legal issues are brought up after the fight to challenge the commission's decision.



Matthias E. Reiber

Rick Carlisle received a $25,000 fine

April 25, 2015, the head coach of Dallas Mavericks Rick Carlisle received a $25,000 fine from the league for his inappropriate comments after Game 3 (Pollakoff, 2015, para. 1).

Last Friday, the Mavericks lost their fist home field game to the Rockets with 128-130, after the Game 3, the Mavericks put themselves in an inferior position in this series (Pollakoff, 2015, para. 2). During the game, Carlisle felt angry with the referee’s penalty, so he expressed his anger to the referees after the game. “My hope is that in Game 4 – the one play that’s kind of an image stuck in my mind, and I just looked at it six times on the film, is the first play of the fourth quarter”(Pollakoff, 2015, para. 3) Carlisle especially mentioned Dwight Howard’s cross-line behavior. “We’re scrambling like hell defensively, and Devin Harris is going to get the ball, and Dwight Howard throws him into our bench. He takes the ball, skips it over the top and Ariza gets a wide-open three.”(Pollakoff, 2015, para. 3)

After watching the Game 3, I found it interesting that the boss of the Mavericks Mark Cuban did not say anything after the game, but previously he received fines from the league several times because of his inappropriate comments. The practice of getting fines from leagues is an interesting ethical topic. The highest bill comes from the Rockets’ ex-coach Stan Van Gundy, he once queried referee’s penalty 10 years ago; then he received a $100,000 fine from the league (Aron, 2005, para. 1). From my perspective, I think Carlisle could exert pressure to referees during the game, he should fight for his team and his players, but he should not have criticized the referees after a game. Playoffs are intensive and furious, as a head coach of the Mavericks, Carlisle should watch his mouth carefully.

My questions are: What do you think of the league’s penalty to Carlisle? Do you think Carlisle should fight for his players? Why or why not?

References:

Aron, J. (2005, May 5). Van Gundy fined $100,000 for comments about refs, Cuban. USA TODAY. Retrieved from:

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/rockets/2005-05-02-van-gundy_x.htm

       

Pollakoff, B. (2015, April 25). Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle fined $25K for publicity criticizing officials after Game 3 loss to Rockets. NBC Sports. Retrieved from:

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/04/25/mavericks-coach-rick-carlisle-fined-25k-for-publicly-criticizing-officials-after-game-3-loss-to-rockets/

---Veeco Zheng

Aggressive or Dirty?

It’s playoff basketball time in the NBA.  In the first round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs, the Cleveland Cavilers swept the Boston Celtics in 4 straight games.  The 4^th and final game of the series resulted in injuries for both teams. It is often said that athlete’s aggression levels increase during the playoffs, but when does that aggression cross the line?

            During game 4, Kelly Olynyk and Kevin Love were battling for a rebound; their arms got tied up.  Once their arms unlocked Kevin Love ran directly to the locker room area.  Love’s shoulder was dislocated during the tussle. The video replay is graphic and you can see the pain and agony expressed in Love's face.  Love’s injury will more than likely cause him to miss some playoff action. Olynyk was called for a foul on the play. Olynk's Foul on Love

            Jae Crowder was also injured in Game 4.  J.R. Smith and Crowder were battling for position for a rebound.   As Crowder and Smith aggressively battled for position, J.R. swung his arm back and hit Crowder with his closed fist.  Crowder fell to the ground and had to be helped off the court.  Smith was awarded a flagrant foul 2 and was ejected from the game. Smith's Foul on Crowder

            A similar situation occurred when Metta World Peace and James Harden collided a couple years ago.   World Peace was suspended for 7 games, due to his elbow to the head of Harden. David Stern was the commissioner at the time and he said,

The concussion suffered by James Harden demonstrates the danger posed by violent acts of this kind, particularly when they are directed at the head area...We remain committed to taking necessary measures to protect the safety of NBA players, including the imposition of appropriate penalties for players with a history of on-court altercations. (Gaines, 2012, para. 4)

Were these incidents examples of aggressive or dirty plays?  Should Olynyk and/or Smith be suspended? If so, how many games? If not why?  What can the commissioner/NBA do to deter dirty/over aggressive plays in the NBA? In your opinion, does the playoffs (any sport) increase aggression among players/coaches?

-David Sims

References

Gaines, C (2012, April 24) The Athlete Formerly Known As Ron Artest Has Been Suspended For Throwing A Vicious Elbow. BusinessInsdier.com. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/metta-world-peace-ron-artest-suspended-for-throwing-a-vicious-elbow-2012-4