Unethical Behavior of Professional Athletes

This growing problem stems, in large part, from the overwhelming commercialization of professional sports in the last few decades. Today, athletes are better paid, owners make bigger profits, television and merchandising revenues increase, and fans have not yet rebelled against high prices. In addition, the athletes are better than they have ever been--playing at a level that surpasses any other period in history. Yet, the enormous pressures associated with getting, and keeping, their huge salaries, and lucrative endorsements, has shifted players' focus from their role as athletes to their ability to command a great deal of money. From high school through their professional careers, athletes are treated in a manner that discourages the development of ordinary moral reasoning. And, very often, rath

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eans, "'we won,' it doesn't mean we worry about each other, bolster each other, counsel each other" (Schaap, 1994, p. 109). Since one of the social roles of sports is to promote the values of team work, fair competition, and pleasure in physical skill, professional athletes, in eliminating these considerations from their games, are guilt of changing an institution that does not even belong to them. But, the changes they are making extend far beyond the loss of positive values. Players are also role models for fans and other players, and the behavior of one individual can have considerable impact on how the games are played. Leo notes, for example, that "one of the less-publicized skills in the [NBA] is how to hit an opponent so that he falls in an awkward way, causing an injury" (1993, p. 37). If a few athletes play this way, most will follow--if only out of self-defense. Another aspect of players as role models is that, as such behavior becomes routine, it also becomes what the fans expect to see. "Trash talk," the "venomous goading of opponents," for example, has become an admired skill (Leo, 1993, p. 37). If fans expect physical brutality, and a complete lack of respect for fellow-players, then this is what they get.
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Approximate Word count = 2525
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)